I was in another lifetime;

One of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue

And the road was full of mud.

I come in from the wilderness,

A creature void of form.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



And if I pass this way again

You can rest assured

I'll always do my best for her,

On that I give my word.

In a world of steel-eyed death

And men who are fighting to be warm,

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



Not a word was spoke between us.

There was little risk involved.

Everything up to that point

Had been left unresolved.

Try imagining a place where

It's always safe and warm.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



I was burned out from exhaustion.

Buried in the hail.

Poisoned in the bushes

And blown out on the trail.

Hunted like a crocodile

Ravaged in the corn.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



Suddenly I turned around

And she was standing there

With silver bracelets on her wrists

And flowers in her hair.

She walked up to me so gracefully

And took my crown of thorns.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



Now there's a wall between us.

Something there's been lost.

I took too much for granted;

Got my signals crossed.

Just to think that it all began

On a long-forgotten morn.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



Well, the deputy walks on hard nails

And the preacher rides a mount,

But nothing really matters much.

It's doom alone that counts

And the one-eyed undertaker;

He blows a futile horn.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



I've heard newborn babies

Wailing like a mourning dove

And old men with broken teeth

Stranded without love.

Do I understand your question, man?

Is it hopeless and forlorn?

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



In a little hilltop village

They gambled for my clothes.

I bargained for salvation

And they gave me a lethal dose.

I offered up my innocence

And got repaid with scorn.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm".



Well, I'm living in a foreign country,

But I'm bound to cross the line.

Beauty walks a razor's edge.

Someday I'll make it mine.

If I could only turn back the clock

To when God and her were born.

"Come in" she said, "I'll give you

Shelter from the storm"