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Lord Have Mercy

from Only Human by Sam Steffen

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Psalm 57:1-6

lyrics

It’s seven degrees, I got no place to go
This time tomorrow, it’ll be ten below
Sun’s going down, it’s starting to snow
Lord have mercy on me
Lord have mercy on me

I’ve made my mistakes and I’ve got my regrets
Dug my own grave as I was placing those my bets
And now I ain’t got the money for to pay off my debts
Lord have mercy on me

My friends want me placed under arrest
My family agrees, and thinks it’d be for the best
To whom can I turn, now? There’s nobody left—
Lord, have mercy on me

Have mercy on me—tho I now am trembling
And did not do my daily share
Have mercy on me—and in thy remembering
Recall how frequent was my prayer

others came to me, helpless, I kicked them to the curb
I took offense at their entitlement, gall and their nerve
I know this, now, is justice, it’s what I deserve, but
Lord, have mercy on me

I have fled every place that I might’ve stayed
Conceded to fold right when I should have played
Is this here not the fate of which I’ve been so afraid?
Lord have mercy on me

It’s one thing I’ll mention of which I’m ashamed
I can’t seem to shoulder my own share of the blame
Stead of pitying myself, why can’t I just change?
Lord, have mercy on me

Have mercy on me—tho the cost were too high
And the debt one more I could not repay
Have mercy on me—so that rather than die
I can turn the favor someone else’s way

Wherever there’s injustice, there’s histry to blame
I profit from the system I been fighting to change
But how can I be free when my brother’s in chains?
Lord Have Mercy on me!

I feel like the ending is about to begin;
Ceiling’s coming down and the wall’s closing in
The wind’s picking up; the light’s getting dim
lord have mercy on me

The future’s been told in decipherable font
the past is a vessel the dead failed to haunt
teach me know what it’s important to want—
Lord, have mercy on me

credits

from Only Human, released March 7, 2019

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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