I Want To Die In My Own Bed
All night the army came up from Gilgal
To get to the killing field, and that's all.
In the ground, warf and woof, lay the dead.
I want to die in My own bed.
Like slits in a tank, their eyes were uncanny,
I'm always the few and they are the many.
I must answer. They can interrogate My head.
But I want to die in My own bed.
The sun stood still in Gibeon. Forever so, it's willing
to illuminate those waging battle and killing.
I may not see My wife when her blood is shed,
But I want to die in My own bed.
Samson, his strength in his long black hair,
My hair they sheared when they made me a hero
Perforce, and taught me to charge ahead.
I want to die in My own bed.
I saw you could live and furnish with grace
Even a lion's den, if you've no other place.
I don't even mind to die alone, to be dead,
But I want to die in My own bed.
Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara and Benjamin Harshav
poem by Yehuda Amichai

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Related quotes
Samson & Delilah
If I had my way, I would tear this old building down.
Well delilah was a woman, she was fine and fair,
She had good looks, God knows, and coal black hair,
Delilah she gained old samsons mind.
When first he saw this woman, you know he couldnt believe his mind.
Delilah she climbed up on samsons knee,
Said tell me where your strength lies if you please.
She spoke so kind and she talked so fair,
Well samson said, delilah cut off my hair.
You can shave my head, clean as my hand
And my strength will become as natural as any old man.
If I had my way, if I had my way, if I had my way,
I would tear this old building down.
You read about samson, all from his works,
He was the strongest man that ever had lived on earth.
One day when samson was walking along,
Looked down on the ground, he saw an old jawbone.
He stretched out his arm, God knows, chains broke like thread,
When he got to moving, ten thousand was dead.
If I had my way, if I had my way, if I had my way,
I would tear this old building down.
Now samson and the lion, they got in a tack,
Samson he crawled up on the lions back.
You read about this lion, he killed a man with his paws,
But samson got his hands around that lions jaws.
He ripped the beast till he killed him dead.
The bees made honey in the lions head.
If I had my way, if I had my way, if I had my way,
I would tear this old building down.
song performed by by Grateful Dead

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Lisette and Eileen
“When he was here alive, Eileen,
There was a word you might have said;
So never mind what I have been,
Or anything,—for you are dead.
“And after this when I am there
Where he is, you’ll be dying still.
Your eyes are dead, and your black hair,—
The rest of you be what it will.
“’Twas all to save him? Never mind,
Eileen. You saved him. You are strong.
I’d hardly wonder if your kind
Paid everything, for you live long.
“You last, I mean. That’s what I mean.
I mean you last as long as lies.
You might have said that word, Eileen,—
And you might have your hair and eyes.
“And what you see might be Lisette,
Instead of this that has no name.
Your silence—I can feel it yet,
Alive and in me, like a flame.
“Where might I be with him to-day,
Could he have known before he heard?
But no—your silence had its way,
Without a weapon or a word.
“Because a word was never told,
I’m going as a worn toy goes.
And you are dead; and you’ll be old;
And I forgive you, I suppose.
“I’ll soon be changing as all do,
To something we have always been;
And you’ll be old.… He liked you, too,
I might have killed you then, Eileen.
“I think he liked as much of you
As had a reason to be seen,—
As much as God made black and blue.
He liked your hair and eyes, Eileen.”
poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson

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The Good Times Are Killing Me
The good times are killing me.
Here we go!
Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on.
Shrug off shortsighted false excitement and oh what can I say?
Have one, have twenty more "one mores" and oh it does not relent.
The good times are killing me.
Kick butt buzz-cut dickheads
who didn't like what I said.
The good times are killing me.
Jaws clenched tight we talked all night,
oh but what the hell did we say?
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
Fed up with all that LSD.
Need more sleep than coke or methamphetamines.
Late nights with warm, warm whiskey.
I guess the good times they were all just killing me.
Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on.
The good times are killing me.
Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug.
The good times are killing me.
Have one, have twenty more "one mores" and oh it does not relent.
The good times are killing me.
Shit-kicker city slickers who all wanted me dead.
The good times are killing me.
Get sucked in and stuck in late nights
with more folks that I don't know.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
song performed by by Modest Mouse

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Good Times Are Killing Me
MODEST MOUSE - The Good Times Are Killing Me
Album: Good News For People Who Love Bad News (2004)
The good times are killing me.
Here we go!
Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on.
Shrug off shortsighted false excitement and oh what can I say?
Have one, have twenty more "one mores" and oh it does not relent.
The good times are killing me.
Kick butt buzz-cut dickheads
who didn't like what I said.
The good times are killing me.
Jaws clenched tight we talked all night,
oh but what the hell did we say?
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
Fed up with all that LSD.
Need more sleep than coke or methamphetamines.
Late nights with warm, warm whiskey.
I guess the good times they were all just killing me.
Got dirt, got air, got water and I know you can carry on.
The good times are killing me.
Enough hair of the dog to make myself an entire rug.
The good times are killing me.
Have one, have twenty more "one mores" and oh it does not relent.
The good times are killing me.
Shit-kicker city slickers who all wanted me dead.
The good times are killing me.
Get sucked in and stuck in late nights
with more folks that I don't know.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
The good times are killing me.
song performed by by Modest Mouse

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God Full Of Mercy
God-Full-of-Mercy, the prayer for the dead.
If God was not full of mercy,
Mercy would have been in the world,
Not just in Him.
I, who plucked flowers in the hills
And looked down into all the valleys,
I, who brought corpses down from the hills,
Can tell you that the world is empty of mercy.
I, who was King of Salt at the seashore,
Who stood without a decision at my window,
Who counted the steps of angels,
Whose heart lifted weights of anguish
In the horrible contests.
I, who use only a small part
Of the words in the dictionary.
I, who must decipher riddles
I don't want to decipher,
Know that if not for the God-full-of-mercy
There would be mercy in the world,
Not just in Him.
Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara and Benjamin Harshav
poem by Yehuda Amichai

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The havoc of war
a Smoking and burning
enemy battle tank
stands stopped in its tracks,
like a metal coffin
with its occupants
still hatched in.
a BRDM enemy armoured car
is encased by leaping flames
and the phosphoric burning smell
is churning in my guts.
Some dead Cuban soldiers lay
cut from the stem
mangled in blood and guts
and the machinegun is still chattering
and I wish to be,
in another place and time
than to be a part
of this slaughtering.
a Bleating Gemsbok rushes past
trying to outrun the flames,
that leap through the field
while the machines of war
brings death to the living.
Shot after shot is fired
at killing range
and it’s hot and deafening
inside the Ratel,
but the wind
brushes through my hair
where I stand
in the top hatch
and trees and bushes
sweep past
as if screened in a movie house.
Enemy armour keeps exploding
and my voice sounds strange
and unfamiliar to me,
while I give directions
for the next killing.
poem by Gert Strydom

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And We Shall Not Get Excited
And we shall not get excited. Because a translator
May not get excited. Calmly, we shall pass on
Words from man to son, from one tongue
To others' lips, un-
Knowingly, like a father who passes on
The features of his dead father's face
To his son, and he himself is like neither of them. Merely a mediator.
We shall remember the things we held in our hands
That slipped out.
What I have in my possesion and what I do not have in my possession.
We must not get excited.
Calls and their callers drowned. Or, my beloved
Gave me a few words before she left,
To bring up for her.
And no more shall we tell what we were told
To other tellers. Silence as admission. We must not
Get excited.
Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara and Benjamin Harshav
poem by Yehuda Amichai

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Genocide
When they try to tell you knowledge is a dangerous thing
"it's such a dangerous thing"
The people that have it are the people that sin
And the people that need it are the people that can never win
"they can never win"
Let me get you out of here little broken wing
There are people round here that are right
There are people round here that like to sleep at night
There are people round here that go slow
There are people round here that don't kindly to the killing of the buffalo
When they tear up all the treaties and break up all the plans
"they break up all the plans"
Did you do your duty and kill on command?
Did you know the redman used to roam this land?
"he used to roam this land"
Now the souls of lost warriors blow across the sands
People round here they get it right
People round here we like to sleep at night
There are people round here that go slow
People round here that don't take kindly to the killing of the buffalo, oh no
So listen to my story and listen to it well
"you better listen well"
Listen to the glory of the gory details of the tale i tell
Did you know the redman very well?
"i used to know him well"
Did you know the hunting ground before it became a hell?
There are people round here that are right
There are people round here that like to sleep at night
There are people round here i don't know
There are people round here that don't take kindly to the killing of the buffalo
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing
The killing of the
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing
The killing
So listen to my story of genocide
How they were hunted and slaughtered till there was no place left to hide
Did you know the redman used to hold his head with pride?
Till every man, woman and child were destroyed
There are people round here that get it right
There are people round here that couldn't sleep at night
There are people round here i don't know
There are people round here that don't take kindly to the killing of the buffalo
There are people round here that understand
There are people round here that couldn't give a damn
There are people round here that go slow
There are people round here that don't take too kindly to the killing of the buffalo
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing
The killing of the
They're killing all the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing
They're killing all the
They're killing all the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing of the buffala-o
The killing
The killing
The killing of the buffala-o
(repeat at random)
song performed by by Thin Lizzy

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Intussusception
this is now, we live
so cold, and lifeless
just sitting here
with my head between my legs
staring at the ground
twitching, convulsing
think about the past
where did it go?
where did it come from?
and why is this such a rhetorical question
to ask myself?
so why?
i must try to seek salvation
in a world that is so cold
cold, cold, cold
loud empty thud
against my head
as the pain rushes in
and loving it
is over here upon myself
listen to time, why? why? why?
try to understand
why do you understand
when no one else does?
no one else does
sick and killing time
killing me forever
forever dead
all in till the end
so this is worth living?
in nothing?
so something is all
it's all a game to debate
contemplate suicide
i don't patronize
i don't sympathize
for you or dissed burnt image
image on top of the forehead in the mirror
where we see no truth
forever lost, forever loveless
loveless forever, loveless forever
tired of living, soul taking
i feel it breaking my mind
so goodbye, so goodbye
song performed by by Velvet Acid Christ

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After All (The Dead)
What do you say to the dead
Will you forgive me for living
Can't believe the things that they said
Wonderful day for a killing
It's killing me
What do they do with your soul
Is it just lying there busted
When did you lose all control
Is there someone to be trusted
With my mind
Oh there's insufficient evidence
Of what just might come after
But sometimes out of nowhere
There's demented sounds of laughter
Are we all haunted by
The ghost - imagination
It just can't be
I've seen them there
Howling at the moon
Is it just me
Or does somebody else believe this
Well i'm not alone
And i'm not afraid
There's just one way to see
Chorus:
After all etc.
What do you say to the dead
Is there a place where it's burning
It says in a book i once read
Yes there's a chance of returning
Turn to me
The fundamental principles
Say nothing of forever
But those are voices that i hear
Or i'm just not so clever
It can't be me
I know somebody else believes this
Well i'm not alone
I'm not afraid
Just one way to see
After all etc.
song performed by by Black Sabbath

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After All
What do you say to the dead
Will you forgive me for living
Cant believe the things that they said
Wonderful day for a killing
Its killing me
What do they do with your soul
Is it just lying there busted
When did you lose all control
Is there someone to be trusted
With my mind
Oh theres insufficient evidence
Of what just might come after
But sometimes out of nowhere
Theres demented sounds of laughter
Are we all haunted by
The ghost - imagination
It just cant be
Ive seen them there
Howling at the moon
Is it just me
Or does somebody else believe this
Well Im not alone
And Im not afraid
Theres just one way to see
Chorus:
After all etc.
What do you say to the dead
Is there a place where its burning
It says in a book I once read
Yes theres a chance of returning
Turn to me
The fundamental principles
Say nothing of forever
But those are voices that I hear
Or Im just not so clever
It cant be me
I know somebody else believes this
Well Im not alone
Im not afraid
Just one way to see
After all etc.
song performed by by Black Sabbath

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Killers
I am singing to you
Soft as a man with a dead child speaks;
Hard as a man in handcuffs,
Held where he cannot move:
Under the sun
Are sixteen million men,
Chosen for shining teeth,
Sharp eyes, hard legs,
And a running of young warm blood in their wrists.
And a red juice runs on the green grass;
And a red juice soaks the dark soil.
And the sixteen million are killing. . . and killing
and killing.
I never forget them day or night:
They beat on my head for memory of them;
They pound on my heart and I cry back to them,
To their homes and women, dreams and games.
I wake in the night and smell the trenches,
And hear the low stir of sleepers in lines--
Sixteen million sleepers and pickets in the dark:
Some of them long sleepers for always,
Some of them tumbling to sleep to-morrow for always,
Fixed in the drag of the world's heartbreak,
Eating and drinking, toiling. . . on a long job of
killing.
Sixteen million men.
poem by Carl Sandburg

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Killing An Arab
Standing on the beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the arab on the ground
I can see his open mouth
But i hear no sound
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab
I can turn
And walk away
Or i can fire the gun
Staring at the sky
Staring at the sun
Whichever i chose
It amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab
I feel the steel butt jump
Smooth in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring at myself
Reflected in the eyes
Of the dead man on the beach
The dead man on the beach
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab
song performed by by Cure

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Killing An Arab (live)
Standing on a beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the arab on the ground
See his open mouth
But hear no sound
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab
I can turn and walk away
Or I can fire the gun
Staring at the sky
Staring at the sun
Whichever I choose
It amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab
Feel the steel butt jump
Smooth in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring at myself
Reflected in the eyes of
The dead man on the beach
The dead man
On the beach
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab
song performed by by Cure

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Dead Girl Superstar
Well, she threw downtown on a gambling green
And fenced a chicken dog in a movie
A long haired baby got a record machine
Like a hacksaw falling on me
Go, go, go, go
Dying to go
Shes moving in like a demon
Dead girl, dead girl
Well, she blew uptown on a cemetery sound
And wore her leather pants for week, yeah
A canteen butcher got tiger teeth
And a handmade circus freak, yeah
Go, go, go, go
Dying to go
She moving in like a demon
Dead girl, dead girl superstar
Well, she hit the ground like a bounty killer clown
With a fistful of dollars to eat, yeah
I see her there with blood in her hair
And a flesh killing brat to beat, yeah
song performed by by Rob Zombie

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Killing Andy Warhol
Did you ever see the sun rise up
Above this blackened hole
Did you ever feel that what you wants
Not under your control
Ever think that how you feel
Is not quite what you are
Some of us are satellites
Some are superstars
Theyre killing andy warhol
Hes a saint and hes a thief
Well all die a million times
Thats what I believe
Killing andy warhol
Killing andy warhol
They say the rain in europe
Cools you down and helps you think
Water, water everywhere
Nothing you can drink
Kissing andy warhol
His skin feels like a shark
White hair sits so beautiful
Eyelids are so dark
And Im trying to get ahead
Like any boy or girl
Thered be no dictators anywhere
If I could rule the world
Killing andy warhol
Killing andy warhol
Thats impossible - he got all that money
Adorable - having all that money
Feasable - that its all black money
Its so criminal - making all that money
All I want, is what Id want
But I dont want that now
Theyre dressing andy warhol up
If only thay knew how
Jesus on the neon sign
Turns and starts to laugh
And Im thinking about this oxygen
And how Ill make it last
Killing andy warhol
Hes a saint - yeah hes a thief
Motorways are everywhere
With no clean air to breathe
Killing andy warhol
Killing andy warhol
Till the end of time
Till the end of time
Having all that money
Killing andy warhol
Hes got all that money
And its real black money
Making all that money
Killing andy warhol
Killing andy warhol
Written by : kerr/burchill reproduced without permission
song performed by by Simple Minds

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Fight
Red drips from my chin where I have been eating.
Not all the blood, nowhere near all, is wiped off my mouth.
Clots of red mess my hair
And the tiger, the buffalo, know how.
I was a killer.
Yes, I am a killer.
I come from killing.
I go to more.
I drive red joy ahead of me from killing.
Red gluts and red hungers run in the smears and juices
of my inside bones:
The child cries for a suck mother and I cry for war.
poem by Carl Sandburg

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The First Rain
The first rain reminds me
Of the rising summer dust.
The rain doesn't remember the rain of yesteryear.
A year is a trained beast with no memories.
Soon you will again wear your harnesses,
Beautiful and embroidered, to hold
Sheer stockings: you
Mare and harnesser in one body.
The white panic of soft flesh
In the panic of a sudden vision
Of ancient saints.
Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara and Benjamin Harshav
poem by Yehuda Amichai

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All That I Give
Why do you hate me?
Why does he hate me?
Why does she hate me
And all I want to be?
I want to be alive
I want to be dead
I want to survive
And scream 'Off with my head! '
My hair is blonde
My hair is black
You're dead and gone
So don't come back
My eyes are brown
My eyes are blue
I always frown
When I see you
You make me scream
You hurt my pride
You bust my seams
From deep inside
You want me alive
You want me dead
You want me to survive
Yet scream 'Off with her head! '
I've cried for you
I've lied for you
I've given it all
That which led to my downfall
I've told you the truth
And given you lies
And all the rest
I hide deep inside
So go screw yourself,
You greedy damn whelp!
And don't come back
'Cause I won't help!
You wanted the truth?
Well, here it is:
You don't deserve me
And all that I give
You won't get me back
As long as I live
I'm on the attack
I'll get back what I give
I've given you life
I've given you lies
I've given you hair
I've given you eyes
I've given you smiles
I've given you frowns
With you I have been
Through the ups and downs
But enough is enough!
I'm done with you now!
You don't deserve love;
You disgusting, selfish cow!
poem by Gwenevere Cornwell

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Barbara On Your Mind
Last night you called me barbara
As you lay fast asleep
And although Im not barbara
You wanted me to be
You whispered words I havent heard
In such a long, long time
Last night you said I love you
With barbara on your mind
Sometimes I find traces of her kisses on your skin
And strands of chestnut hair
That say youve been with her again
Little traces of her that it breaks my heart to find
Last night you called me darlin
With barbara on your mind
With barbara on your mind
You held me in your arms so tight
And lying there so close to you
I cried until day light
And though you think that I dont know
Im really not that blind
Last night you said I love you
With barbara on your mind
Last night you called me darlin
With barbara on your mind
song performed by by Dolly Parton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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