Natalie Merchant Motherland lyrics

Where in hell can you go
Far from the things that you know
Far from the sprawl of concrete
That keeps crawling its way
About one thousand miles a day?

Take one last look behind
Commit this to memory and mind
Don't miss this wasteland, this terrible place
When you leave, keep your heart off your sleeve

Motherland, cradle me, close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep, keep me safe
Lie with me, stay beside me
Don't go, don't you go

O, my five and dime queen
Tell me what have you seen?
The lust and the avarice
The bottomless, the cavernous greed
Is that what you see?


Motherland, cradle me, close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep, keep me safe
Lie with me, stay beside me
Don't go

It's your happiness I want most of all
And for that I'd do anything at all, oh mercy me
If you want the best of it or the most of all
If there's anything I can do at all

Now come on, shot gun bride
What makes me envy your life?
Faceless, nameless, innocent, blameless and free
What's that like to be?

Motherland, cradle me, close my eyes
Lullaby me to sleep, keep me safe
Lie with me, stay beside me
Don't go, don't you go