While every rich son of a bitch
is just getting richer
And the poor battered Cubs
have lost another good pitcher
While the fundamentalist fringe
lends its voice to the president
And the poor sink deeper
into disenfranchisement
While the heirs of Joe McCarthy
whine "witch hunt" without flinching
And save a ward of white power
from "a high-tech lynching" *
While their pet "uppity black"
strikes a pose and prays
And a lotta real uppity blacks are
spinning in their graves
Take my hand... Take my arm
Take my kiss... Make me warm
And liberate me for New Year's Eve
While the clothes have no emperor
and image is the only noise
While boys still make the rules
and girls are back to being toys
Save a soft place for me
under your skin
Gimme shelter in your heart
In your flesh, deep in sin, a place to hide in
And all I want for Christmas
is to wrap you up
And make you
my sweater and my tie
Then I' Il be your shiny new chemistry set
and stuff your stocking with my heart
once more before we die
So take my hand... Take my arm
Take my kiss... Make me warm
And liberate me for New Year's Eve
While Brando buys an island
just to be free
All I need is for you
to make love to me
If only once a year
then let it be
At the end and the beginning on
New Year's Eve
Take my hand... Take my arm
Take my kiss... Make me warm
And liberate me for New Year's Eve
Don't let this harvest go to seed
For want of that miracle deed
That sweetest reason to believe
Oh liberate me for New Year's Eve.
