Album: The Hands That Thieve (2013)

They Broke Him Down

Did I mention we were dreaming
When the devil came to town?
I was awoken by the screaming
But nobody heard a sound

And the lies we told at breakfast
Won't match the lies we had for lunch
And the lies we said for dinner, yeah, for dinner
They're the tallest of the bunch

Did you notice he was cold
When he finally lost control long ago?
And the epilogue I dreaded
Was unlikely to console
And I'm still not understanding
The things he did before he left
And the one thing that will haunt me, it will haunt me
Right before his final breath, he said

And they broke him down, yeah, they broke him down
He said, "I'll never be your saint, you see, 'cause I won't be hanging around."
So they broke him down, yeah, they broke him down
So I stood there and I held my breath 'cause I know that it wouldn't be long
'Til they broke me down

Did I mention we were flailing
When the angels came around?
And they just sat there they we were waiting
For the first of us to drown
And I started going under
But I didn't hold my breath
'Cause the last thing that I needed, oh I needed
Was to owe a holy debt
Oh no

And no one holds a grudge, dear,
Like I do, I see it through
And you may not remember
It was nothing much at the time
But I kept it bottled inside

Oh and we all know how that goes
Yeah, I've given up on letting go
So here we are, with nothing left here
And now you left me here
And I was last to know

And they broke him down, yeah, they broke him down
So I can't be your saint, you see, 'cause I won't be hanging around
And they broke him down, yeah, they broke him down
So I stood there and I held my breath 'cause I knew that it wouldn't be long

Holy smokes
Some say we've given up the ghost
But I think he's in the background (somewhere in the background)
Hiding in his favorite photographs
And he's living as a beggar
Or a millionaire
But the one thing that I'm sure of, I am sure of
Is he found some comfort there?

[2x]
And they broke him down, yeah, they broke him down
So I can't be your saint, you see, 'cause I won't be hanging around
And they broke him down, yeah, they broke him down
So I stood there and I held my breath 'cause I knew that it wouldn't be long