Lyrics Ruins of the Realm - James McMurtry

Ruins of the Realm

Standin' in the middle of a Roman street
Marble dust all over my feet
Bearded masses at the gates
Dancin' in the ruins while it’s not too late
Drivin' a Rolls through old Bombay
Rickshaw driver’s in my way
Well he’d better move over and he’d better move fast
Dancin' in the ruins of a golden past
Dancin' in the ruins of the Raj
Queen and country’s noble cause
Standin' on the banks of the river Seine
I ain’t got tuppence to my name
Stand my ground and I cast my net
Dancin' in the ruins where the sun don’t set
Dancin' in the ruins of the Crown
Enfield rifles keepin' us down
I got a thirty-aught-six and a premium load
In a shotgun shack on a two lane road
Smack in the middle of the Bible Belt
Dancin' in the ruins all by myself
We got the National Guard with the bayonets
We got the ten commandments on the State House steps
We shalt not steal and we shalt not kill
Dancin' in the ruins of our own free will
Dancin' in the ruins of the South
Confederate flag taped over my mouth
We thank thee Lord for all we got
While the multinationals call the shots
So scrape them hides and clean that slate
Dancin' in the ruins of the nation-state
We’ll fight 'em on the land, we’ll fight 'em in the air
Little cowboy says «We gotta fight 'em over there»
You ain’t seen nothing like it since Saigon fell
Dancin' in the ruins 'cause we might as well
Dancin' in the ruins of the realm
A fool and a mad man at the helm
Dancin' in the ruins of the Reich
Down in the bunker on a hunger strike