Bethany

In the later afternoon, it sort of softens on the avenue

Wasting the remainder of the day

Drinking off what's left of the glasses on the table

When the couples get their checks and walk away

And I'll be here tomorrow, then every day that follows

Until I see you later on this week

Will you come and pick me up when I get up off the bus?

Will you help me bring by stuff out to the beach?

When we met, I was the Reverend

You were in the congregation

Didn't happen right away, but pretty soon

And I never had a calling, it was just a strong desire

To be the one that stood up in the room

'Cause when I was a child, I used to fixate on the chaplain

The way he brought the widows all to tears

And that looked like a decent way to make a little living here

I gave myself to God for a few years

Built a chapel off the exit

On the highway outside Harrisburg

There was all that new development back then

Parishioners would come to me

With cakes and little pastries

And ask me for my blessing once again

But I couldn't shake the feeling

I was faking all the faithfulness

And every single sermon was a fraud

Drifted through the rituals

Prideful, high, and pitiful

And pissing off a petty, vengeful God

Pissing off a petty, vengeful God

My parents are both ancient now

I'm staying at their summer house

I clear out on the weekends when they come

To my sister's and her daughter's

On the fringe of Philadelphia

With their skinny cigarettes and snapping gum

But I'm grateful for the place to stay

I'm caddying on Saturdays

The money's not as good as it was when we were teenagers

Walk back from the golf course

Cut through a couple backyards

But I try to keep my eyes pointed heavenward

In some other prior life

The Reverend and his wife

Are sitting in the kitchen, making plans

Unaware of all the mess

The pressure and the flesh

Is capable of making in a man

And I never really fell

'Cause I was never quite convinced

I must admit, I miss all the simplicity

Of a woman and a man

Though, I also understand

The reasons you no longer want to be with me

I can see why you no longer want to be with me

The devil came in hot

Someone called the cops

I explained to them how much it is you mean to me

The cuffs, they made a click

As they wrapped around my wrists

Everybody's got their version of security

Maybe there's a life

Where the Reverend has his wife

And Jesus has his ministry in Galilee

But the sunset looks like blood

From the windows of this bus

Somewhere between Harrisburg and Bethany

Somewhere between Harrisburg and Bethany

Somewhere between Harrisburg and Bethany