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Hands Are Stained

from Red​-​Winged Blackbird Man by Mike Mangione

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lyrics

There was water in the air when the verdict came
Three men are hanging out on county cane
They said don’t give a damn about the men we hanged
Because they were looking for trouble and their trouble came

His mother stayed standing by her baby’s side
And I can handle anything but that look in her eyes
As the storm came coming her baby died
I took my boys hand and pushed him off inside.

I can’t explain everything I saw
When the water fell I felt it fall
I held the feet of a Nazarene
My hands are stained I want them clean

It had to be three when I heard them call
That storms coming lets remove them all
His mother’s knees fell to the ground
And the sky was the color of a wedding gown

The soldier walked up to the condemned mans side
To test his wounds to assure he died
When his spear came up the sky it cried
The earth moaned and split open wide

I can’t explain everything I saw
When the water fell I felt it fall
I held the feet of a Nazarene
My hands are stained I want them clean

I remember what the third man said in his dying prayer
You took him in and you affirmed him there
In those last words I echo his plea
When this storm is through will you remember me

credits

from Red​-​Winged Blackbird Man, released September 3, 2013

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Mike Mangione Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Mike Mangione & The Union is a touring group that combines a folk-rock sound with an orchestrated string section, soulful vocals and literate sensibility. In the fall of 2013 they will release their third studio album, Red-Winged Blackbird Man, produced by Grammy-nominated producer, Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown, Iris DeMent). ... more

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