The Ballad Of...

Start off with the saddest thing you know
And then you’ve got the audience
Then it’s all your show
A man’s wife leaves him
Someone’s robbed
Someone swallows cyanide
Someone’s strung up by a howling mob
My name is Hollis Wadsworth Mason Junior
Defender of what’s right
And I’ve got a way with cars
And I only work at night
My name is Hollis Wadsworth Mason Junior
Defender of what’s good
I believe that there’s a simple answer
When I get under the hood
My grandpa was a moral man
He worked the soil and the wood
He said the city’s evil
And the world is irredeemable
We’d better get back to Montana while we could
I looked for heroes
They’re the only things that last
To back absolute values
With nothing but a good heart and a mask
It could be that I sound naïve about the true nature of sin
But if the choice is cynicism, rage, or giving in
Which world would you rather live in?
In May of '62, I’m 42 years old
The game has changed, I’m obsolete —
It’s a strange world for heroes
Worm’s in the apple
Eating us from inside
Maybe good & justice are old-fashioned values
But even owls have pride
A man must work with his hands
The only skill that lasts
Even when you’ve been replaced
Even when you put away the mask
Start off with the saddest thing you know
And then you’ve got the audience
Then it’s all your show
Start off with the saddest thing you know.