John Wesley Harding - Skyscrapers In Memphis

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They say that the dead live forever
And round here well they probably do
If you stand by the gates outside Graceland
You can watch all the dead coming through
It's Necropolis and welcome to it
It's an archaeological find
They'll be digging up this town forever
They'll be digging up this empty mine

The Indians stand on the scaffold
They've taken the Egyptians place
The Pharaohs and the politicians
Are planning their perfect escape
So they build a memorial tower
Like the ancient texts said that they would
But stories aren't told by the victims
And that's why this story's so good

Have you seen the skyscrapers in Memphis
Do you see how they rise like the sun
And the statues they look just like spacemen
Looking down on everyone
And there's art by the yard in the hallways
And our houses are made out of slime
But the skyscrapers almost touch heaven
Did we escape from the mud this time?

So look at the bar-chart skyline
And look at the graph on the wall
But don't you ignore the byline
When the headline says "Empire Falls"
The buildings get stranger and taller
Til we see that Sphinx up on Mars
So prepare your most pertinent questions
But please don't expect any answers

One last look round the museum
The one where the bullets still fly
But don't blink if you wish to see them
Puncture the mummy's good eye
As the lift hits the five figure numbers
The relics of ages long gone
The tomb of the unknown protest singer
The computer of King Tutankhamun

Have you seen the skyscrapers in Memphis
Do you see how they rise like the sun
And the statues they look just like spacemen
Looking down on everyone
And there's art by the yard in the hallways
And our houses are made out of slime
But the skyscrapers they almost touch heaven
Did we escape from the mud this time?