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Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Performer
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Composer
Kathleen Brennan
Kathleen Brennan
Songwriter

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Higher that the monkey can climb
The more he shows his tail
Call no man happy till he dies
There's no milk at the bottom of the pail
[Verse 2]
God builds a church
The Devil builds a chapel
Like the thistles that are growing
On the trunk of a tree
All the good in the world
You can put inside a thimble
And still have room for you and me
[Verse 3]
If there's one thing you can say about mankind
There's nothing kind about man
You can drive out nature with a pitchfork
But it always comes roaring back again
[Verse 4]
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
[Verse 5]
The higher that the monkey can climb
The more he shows his tail
Call no man happy till he dies
There's no milk at the bottom of the pail
[Verse 6]
God tempers all the winds for the new shorelines
The Devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand
All the good in the world
You can put inside a thimble
And still have room for you and me
[Verse 7]
If there's one thing you can say about mankind
There's nothing kind about man
You can drive out nature with a pitchfork
But it always comes roaring back again
[Verse 8]
For want of a bird
The sky was lost
For want of a nail
The shoe was lost
For want of a life
A life was lost
For want of a toy
The child was lost
[Verse 9]
And misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Everybody row
Everybody row
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Everybody row
Everybody row
Everybody row
Everybody row
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Everybody row
Everybody row
Everybody row
Everybody row
Everybody row
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Misery's the river of the world
Everybody row
Everybody row
Everybody row
Written by: Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits
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