Surgeon's Saw

By the eerie light of the torches, the surgeon's saw was sawing By the eerie light of the torches, the surgeon's saw was sawing All the livelong night The blacksmiths chained to their forges, and the idiot child guffawing The blacksmiths chained to their forges, and the idiot child guffawing All the livelong night To the sound of each other screaming, the soldiers slept like babies To the sound of each other screaming, the soldiers slept like babies All the livelong night Her tattooed chin still bleeding, Olive's eyes went crazy Her tattooed chin still bleeding, Olive's eyes went crazy I laid on my back and I tried to slow my breathing But I thought I saw a black stain pooling round the ceiling When we caught them at the river They'd been riding three to each broke down mule The women knelt at the river Drowning their children under the high plains moon EYES WILD AND WHITE We knocked their knees in backwards And threw them in the river We knocked their knees in backwards And threw them in the river We threw them in the shallows And took bets on which ones were swimmers And Johnny stood on the shore With a J-frame to crown the winners One day I left my body and my spirit shook like jelly Til I met God face down black stain pooling round his belly I SAW MAN CHAINED BEHIND MAN CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND MAN CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND GOD I SAW MAN CHAINED BEHIND MAN CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND MAN CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND GOD CHAINED BEHIND GOD When they finally got hold of Johnny They fed him to the buzzards When they finally got hold of Johnny They fed him to the buzzards They staked his hands to the hot red rock And pinned his eyes to the sun They slit him open sternum to cock And he screamed till the birds ate his lungs