The Gates

[Intro: Bill Withers]

Tell the Reverend Harris to pray for me, Lord

I ain't gonna live

I don't believe I'm gonna live to get much older

[Verse 1: Tonedeff]

Lights out, so peaceful, stressless

Things used to seem so restless

Forgive me please, see I need to address this

Just haven't been this breathless since I met this

Woman who leapt into my life when I was reckless

Mothered my blessed kid, but was destined to exit early

Guess you can say I've been blessed with the best gifts

Reminiscing, holding her necklace in my clenched fist, hah

It's funny how we move in sudden directions

Dedicated my life to the public's protection

Never remarried 'cause love's an investment

Besides, I had a baby girl to worry about that would struggle to blend in

Now as I think, a weightlessness is interrupting my senses

A pulsing tension carries my very frame, I rise up in ascension: wait

I try to escape, but I arrive at these gates

I see a figure standing guard who invites me to pray

[Chorus]

I tried it on

At the gates of Hell

I'm going to lay

Down, down

[Verse 2: Tonedeff & Deacon]

I walk towards the figure that's extending its hand

I move to enter past the gates yet I'm met with its grasp

Slow down son, there's things to discuss, such as family

But first, let us talk about vanity

Vanity? Man, you're sadly mistaken, you, either that or your sanity's shaken

If you'd examine me patiently you'd retract on your statement

I haven't sinned flagrantly, I've acted as faithfully

As any other single father who raised a baby girl graciously

Nakedly, she was at your door after her mother's death

Ignorant to racial anger and other stress

Later had a mixed baby at her sweet sixteen

How did that fit within your picnic scene?

Sometimes it's too late to fix these things, the pristine dream was over

Had to face the fact she split these genes with his sick seed

With skin the darkest pigment seen.and so I kicked and screamed

Until we found the peace that distance brings

A mixed race queen, that was your thoughts about her momma

Up yonder went her soul, your hate growed from ponders

On life, being less trife with a white wife

So any instance of y'alls differences it was slice-slice

Oh my, it's not her race, my daughter's love flies blind

I couldn't take her making the same mistakes that crushed my life

I'm dumbstruck by these baseless allegations

I've saved too many lives of all creeds for you to paint me as a racist

I've endangered my own safety to save babies from blazes

Black, white, Latino, even Asian on occasion

But why so?

How dare you question my motivation!

No need to second guess, your only aim was to be famous

Lord knows, you've left behind scorched souls

Black children left chilling, later found burnt whole

So sadly, your glory's to come urgently

Sentenced to fight fires for eternity