The River In Reverse

How long does a promise last? How long can a lie be told? What would I take in exchange for my soul? Would I notice when it was sold? Wake me up Wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this 'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse What do we have to do to send The river in reverse Every man a crawling kingsnake Every girl a half a heartbreak Every woman sold into shame To any son without a name Are your arms too weak to lift? Another shovel on the graveyard shift Here comes the flood if you catch my drift Where the things that they promised are not a gift If man falls through the mirror of a lake They fish him out quick and they call him a fake Give him all the temptations he can take Tie him up high 'til his bones break Wake me up Wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this 'Cos I don't see how it can get much worse What do we have to do to send The river in reverse I thought I heard somebody laugh Look out your window They're chasing shadows in the dark They're counting widows I felt a sliver of glass Saw a cross in splinters I felt the truce of spring Dig me out of the trench of winter So count your blessings when they ask permission To govern with money and superstition They tell you it's all for your own protection 'Til you fear your own reflection But the times are passing from illumination Like bodies falling from a constellation An uncivil war divides the nation So erase the tape on that final ape running down creation Running down creation Wake me up Wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this Wake me up Wake me up with a slap or a kiss There must be something better than this --- The River in Reverse - Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint