The Boy With the Gun

He knows well his wicked ways

A course of bitterness

A grudge held from his childhood days

As if life had loved him less

Reading down his list of names

He ticks them one by one

He points the barrel at the sky

Firing shots off at the sun

"I am the law and I am the king

I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

He carves out the victim's names

In the wooden butt of the gun

He leans well back against the tree

He knows his kingdom's come

He'll breathe a sigh self-satisfied

The work is in good hands

He shoots the coins into the air

And follows where the money lands

"I am the law and I am the king

I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

He pauses at the city's edge

Of hellfire and of stone

He summons up the devil there

To give him courage of his own

He'll free the sinners of deceit

They'll hear his name and run

His justice is his own reward

Measured out beneath the sun

"I am the law and I am the king"

And my name's on the gun

"I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

And my name's on the gun

"I am the law and I am the king

I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

Work has just begun

For the boy with the gun, oh