Dirty Water

I was born inside a tiny room
I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move
My mother cried and pinned me to her breast
The nurses, they all gathered 'round
And one of them, she held me down
And washed me in that brown and murky water
In the oceans, in the air
Dirty water everywhere
Dirty water filling up my cup
I caught a fever from the well
And eventually I couldn’t tell the difference between the right and the wrong
But when I asked you for advice, you turned to me and you whispered ice
And cooled me with that cold and murky water
In the oceans, in the air
Dirty water everywhere
Dirty water filling up my cup
Across the sea, across the land
Every woman, every man, has come to wash their hands in dirty water
In dirty water, in dirty water, in dirty water
I withered as they searched for cures for something old, for something pure
Virtues that I never could express
But finally they called the priest who laid me out to rest in peace
Anointed with that dark and dirty water
In the bedrooms, in the towers
In the corridors of power
Dirty water mixing with the best
Served in crystal, served in glass
In the palaces, in the bars
We all know the taste of dirty water
Of dirty water, of dirty water, of dirty water
Yeah, dirty water