Mr Truth And Mr Lie

Truth stood alone, white hair flowing
In a dirty vest and slacks
And scraped a stain off his old slippers
And sent mr lie a fax

"Come and see me brother
I'm feeling awful low
And if I don't find a release
This burnings going to grow"

Mr lie looked up after reading it twice
And smiled a broken smile
Then replied with an ever-so-simple no
But packed his bags with style

Then next morning, when the weather
Threatened to break into rain
He projected his mind to a mountain top dive
And shared his brothers pain

Your no better than I mr truth
At Once said mr lie
We've both made people happy
We've both made people cry

But somehow people look at you
With awe and with respect
But truth, you hold no virtue
That a lie cannot reflect

For you are tied down as virtue
And centred in all that's real
And I can be almost everything else
That coats your leash in steel

Who gave you that high horse
From upon which you gaze
And who gave you that torch to see through
My smoke, my mirrors, my haze

How many times has a lover lied,
To keep things running smooth
And how youths have uttered a truth
And lost all that is to lose

Mr truth slowly diverted his stare
And crumpled into his seat
He pounded his fists through the glass table
And kicked the floor with his feet

I don't know quite what I've become
Said mr. truth from his chair
I feel no ardent happiness
Just an empty burning dispair

People use you with efficiency
And I have to pick up the pieces
You always enjoy the party,
I'm only invited to cease it

You said that I'm no better than you
Truth stated in defeat
I say that your aiming far too low
If your only as good as me

I mean look at you in that sharp black suit
And look at me in these slacks
Then look at your briefcase and sleek black gun
And look at your money stacks

Then look at this mountaintop hut
From which I always gaze
And watch the world mess itself up
After I've fixed it everyday

But surely it must be slightly cool
To know all there is to know
Without ever having to learn it
A wisdom which doesn't grow

It was at this point truth started shouting
And old testament tempers flared
Finally truth sat back down and said
that's the first thing we've ever shared

Take my moral high ground
And steal my respect and awe
Cos ive realised they create bruises
Which never stop feeling sore

You wanna know how hard it is, to know
Nothing but the truth about lies
And only hear those gentle sobs
And those wavering melodic sighs

Mr lie felt shocked as he realised that
He'd actually started to care
And he watched as his brother lsat there
Tearing out clumps of silvery hair

For many hours they rested
Too tired to play these games
So these twins sit, through the morning hours
Just staring at the flames

They watched the burning logs soak up
The oxygen all around
Until the sun thawed and flowed
And diluted the firelight down

Both seemed to be, wrestling within
In the scum pits of their souls
Both looked up, smiled and said
"im tired and feeling old"

So why don't we swap, for a day, for a month
Or maybe even a year
To see what else there is to see
And how little there is to fear

So the man of lies and the man of truth
Swapped homes, clothes and roles
And both enjoyed the subtle change
And both stopped feeling the cold

So here one stands, on a mountain high
A squint with shifty eyes
White hair unruly from revelation
Truth being told by a lie

And here stands truth, telling a lie
with ponytail and all black suit
And shades which reflect your brain explained
An attitude of ill repute

They met again in 1978
In a park in the summer sun
And realised then, that they had swapped
True sadness for false fun

He asked truth again whether or not
Truth still believed gods lies
Truth looked down at the cobbled streets
And replied with a breathless smile

Maybe I do, maybe I don't
that's not important no more
Cos if im drowning in his eternal truths
I can lie my way to shore

What about you? Asked mr truth
And it was mr lies turn to grin
"all I know is what is true
And all that's true lies within"

So now they both feel happy
And they know where they belong
Because lies are always needed
To help the truth along