[Intro]
“I was in a really dark place
I even thought of packing it in
But I just could not bring myself to do it
I met an old friend that I had a real connection with
And he saw my despair
He asked me if I’d like to play with him
And as we played I felt, slowly but surely, rock ‘n roll grabbed me by the neck, and I, well...”
[Verse 1]
You are a man of impeccable taste
And you know when the X marks the spot
We all need a map for the trail of your thought
Where to go, well, the X marks the spot
[Pre-Chorus 1]
You seem to have a misgiving
Hell yeah, you make a living
Don't add bricks to what we're heaving
We would so much
Rather enjoy the beach, beer and a fire
[Verse 2]
You think something somewhere
Has a copyright for the world
And you've signed where the X marks the spot
You join a cult, fill the void that you've got
Deep within where the X marks the spot
[Pre-Chorus 2]
There you stand and talk and holler
How dark are all your colors
When you paint another sunrise
You leave out the sun
[Chorus]
Birds like you fly straight to heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float away
[Verse 3]
How well do you know those you're calling your own?
I mean... come on dude! (X marks the spot)
Your starving soul in your house of skin and bone
You're an island, the X marks the spot
“Testify children, testify.”
[Pre-Chorus 2]
There you stand and talk and holler
How dark are all your colors
When you paint another sunrise
You leave out the sun
[Chorus]
Birds like you fly straight to heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float away
Birds like you fly straight to heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float away
[Interlude]
"Rock’n’roll allowed me to join this band
And there was a period of time
When I hadn’t exactly lost my soul
I just didn’t know where I’d put it
And I ended up in some very dark places and some dire circumstances
Now let me tell you, children
I was trying to fill a void in my heart
To fill that void I got what I always wanted:
Success, prosperity, the admiration I'd wanted as a player
I got a place in big shows and traveled the world from end to end
And the next of it all, I had this yearning in my heart
Yearning in my heart for rock’n’roll."
"I was called to join this band
And I was surrounded by good folks there
And servants of the rock’n’roll who passed on the love
I’ll testify: the fear was in me, I was afraid of everything
I can swear I saw my own living heart beating through my shirt."
[Verse 4]
You are a circus, but where is the clown?
There's no map, still the X marks the spot
[Pre-Chorus 2]
There you stand and talk and holler
How dark are all your colors
When you paint another sunrise
You leave out the sun
[Chorus]
Birds like you fly straight to heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float down
Into the night with senior John Barleycorn, aye yai yai!
Heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float away
[Bridge]
"Now you children, are you ready to spread the word?
Everybody sing, 'Eo' – (eo)
Everybody say 'Wohoho' – (wohoho)
Everybody sing 'Hey-hey' – (hey hey)
'Woah-oh' – (woah-oh)
Hey-hey – (hey-hey)
'Huh?' - (huh?)
[Chorus]
Birds like you fly straight to heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float away
Birds like you fly straight to heaven, heaven
Or they slowly float away
[Outro]
"And the funny thing was I was like a spiritual baby
Running around with diapers on where the X marks the spot
I'd given my life to rock'n'roll but I still wasn't sure
Was there rock'n'roll?
Is it real?"