The Sins of Memphisto - John Prine

From the bells of St Mary

To the Count of Monte Cristo

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

The sins of Memphisto

Sally used to play with her hula hoops

Now she tells her problems to therapy groups

Grandpa’s on the front lawn staring at a rake

Wondering if his marriage was a terrible mistake

I’m sitting on the front steps drinking Orange Crush

Wondering if it’s possible for me to still blush

Uh huh, oh yeah

A boy on a bike with corduroy slacks

Sleeps in the river by the railroad tracks

He waits for the whistle on the train to scream

So he can close his eyes and begin to dream

Uh huh, oh yeah

From the bells of St Mary

To the Count of Monte Cristo

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

The sins of Memphisto

The hands on his watch spin slowly around

With his mind on a bus that goes all over town

Looking at the babies and the factories

And listening to the music of Mister Squeeze

As if by magic or remote control

He finds a piece of a puzzle that he missed in his soul

Uh huh, oh yeah

From the bells of St Mary

To the Count of Monte Cristo

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

The sins of Memphisto

Adam and Eve and Lucy and Ricky

Bit the big apple and got a little sticky

Esmeralda and the Hunchback of Notre Dame

They humped each other like they had no shame

They paused as they posed for a Polaroid photo

She whispered in his ear, «Exactly-Odo Quasimodo»

From the bells of St Mary

To the Count of Monte Cristo

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

Nothing can stop

The sins of Memphisto

Sally used to play with her hula hoops

Now she tells her problems to therapy groups

Uh huh, oh yeah