And the Band Played On

Sweetest angel came down

Took me by the hand

Said I've got things to offer you

Help you understand

If the bombs don't get you

I'll roll with you tonight

All these things inside your head

You've got to get it right

And the band played on

Spirits of the city

Were calling out my name

When jealous guys break down and cry

They got themselves to blame

If the bombs don't get you

Take courage in the night

All those dreams inside your head

You've got to get it right

Still the band played on

And the band played on

The room was getting hotter

And someone hit the light

There was power in the darkness

There was violence in the night

And the golden sons and daughters

They were coming up for air

You were standing with your back to me

And a halo round your hair

And the questions there were many

Like how can you survive

When it's the moment

You've been waiting for

This is the moment of your life

So every dreamer pass me by

With a fix me Jesus stare in his eyes

I was born to live

I was born to die

With the queen of soul

And the king of light

All the power in the land

Pull me through to the shadowland

I was driven by some hidden hand

It's the greatest gift of all

And the band played on

Shake the ghost within you

Get up, meet up, the rising sun

Cos the old days they're the dying days

And the new day's just begun

At the end of every party

Hear the singer sing his song

May his heart stay young forever

And the dream still lingers on

I want to die

I want to live again

I want to keep on keeping on

They say a coward dies a thousand times

But the brave they die just once

So walk to me, talk to me

Hold me now spectre of love

There's a coolness under fire

And a universal love

And the band played on

Played on, played on