These Eyes (Have Seen)

(album: Mata Leão - 1996)

So many things these eyes have seen
People I've met and places I've been
Inconceivable how one maintains
In the game with the pain and the strain on the brain
How reality's plane can wear you down
And make you an insane man who only frowns
City hardened and cold just like me
Anger has numbed my eyes from all they see

Like a workingman's skin as it turns to leather
The mind of the youth is forced to weather
An assault on his senses by his parents and peers
That preys on innocence, weakness and fears
Manifestation of rage runs deep
Over the edge of sanity, thoughts creep
Violent reaction, bitter and mean
A product of what these eyes have seen

These eyes have seen inhuman sights
I hold my breath with all my might
Like anyone else in our own hells
It seems obscene the things I've seen

Lost count of how many wakes were attended
Mind and body never quite mended
Do you think this is what life intended?
At fourteen your life has ended
Maybe your spirit is battered and broken
From shit you've seen and words that were spoken
Death, violence, drugs all around
These eyes have seen some shit go down