(Tony Joe White)
I've kept it inside much too long
There's no relief
Carry it around just like a stone
Too heavy for me
I have paid the price
of standing on the outside looking in
It's time to let the healing begin
A boy is strung out he's going through hell
His mother weeps
His spirit is broken and there's nothing left
Just a terrible need
And the days are marked by the heaviness of the heart
It never mends
Until the healing begins
And the tension prowels the streets like an animal
The people stay behind their locks and chains
It's a shame
When so many are trying their best to live as one
And the smoke from the fires covers up the sun
A young girl is lying in the dirt
Her dreams ended there
Caught in the crossfire on somebody's turf
Hatred in the air
It's a voice that never sings
A winter without the spring
It never ends
It's time to let the healing begin
It's time to let the healing begin