CIM Records

Lyrics

GATES OF FREEDOM

Well I know tomorrow’s coming but the hours are passing slow
I close my eyes and I hold them tight but I just can’t make them sleep
I hear the cries and the whispers and the moans so lost and low
These memories of the cellblock are nothing that I want but I’m doomed to keep

But come tomorrow morning these gates of freedom part
And from these shackles brother, I will walk away
And I’m gonna get me…
(Gonna get me some…)
I’m gonna get me some…
I’m gonna get me some love before I fade away
(Gonna get some love…)
Before I fade away…

Eighteen years just flushed away and brother, nobody’s been crying
No one wants to remember a two-time loser like me
Eighteen years of living with nothing but still so afraid of dying
But in my heart I know that there’s still something better for me

And come tomorrow morning these gates of freedom part
And from these shackles brother, I will walk away
And I’m gonna get me…
(Gonna get me some…)
I’m gonna get me some…
I’m gonna get me some love before I fade away
(Gonna get some love…)
Before I fade away…

Now, all the times that I laughed and bragged
About all the lovers that I claimed I had
Well, brother, it was just a fool lying
To taste the lips of an honest kiss
Will bring me something close to total bliss
And for that, I’d beg until I’m dying

I’m walking with a paper bag filled with everything I own
My jacket, once so cool is old and faded
I’ve got a photo of my brother with his children in my arms
Lord, I pray my aching heart ain’t too cold and jaded

I’ve got a nine-inch shank scar running down the middle my back
I’ve got a tattoo of a train falling off the dark side of a railroad track
I’ve got a ragged face that’s seen the solitude of years
I’ve got a tired voice that’s cried out brother, let me out of here

But come tomorrow morning these gates of freedom part
And from these shackles brother, I will walk away
And I’m gonna get me…
(Gonna get me some…)
I’m gonna get me some…
I’m gonna get me some love before I fade away
(Gonna get some love…)
Before I fade away…
(Gonna get some love…)
Before I fade away…
(Gonna get some love…)
Before I fade away…
(Gonna get some love…)
Before I fade away…

© 2023 Christopher Iverson Music/BMI
words & music: Christopher Iverson