The Waterboys - Sad Procession

What a sad procession
winding down the lane
What a strange impression
was branded on my brain
A band was playing Endless Mindless
- it was like a hooligan's lament
It was dumb but it was timeless
I still wonder what it meant
But whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

My gambles and illusions
though patently absurd
left me so hungry
I had to eat my words
I sat down and wrote a letter
to the snake who occupied my mind
It said "I've come to love you better
in the mellowing of time"

And whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

"Behold the lights of London"
the skipper said as his hands shook,
his aura eaten by his jealousy
and all the drugs he took
He said "This is the real world, Buddy
Toughen up your ass or it'll break"
I said "I'm not your buddy, Buddy
and your real world is a fake"

And whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

I stumbled down a street of shadows
A black hallelujah split the night
Ten thousand versions of a lie
exploded into light
I came upon a weeping soldier
He said "I'm all washed up now hush
Everything I fought for and believed in
has been vilified or crushed"

But whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

I'm still here, I'm still breathing
I'm who I thought I was - or just about
I'll be walking down this boulevard
until my legs give out
Thoughts like storms and seas are raging
I know it is a matter of degree
But it's not the world outside that's changing
It's me

And whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me