Woke up in the city, wiped the night from my shoes
Spent time in the neon, where a soul can get abused
Preacher man screamin' on the street almost everyday
And a woman steals an innocent in a crossfire serenade
Sleep can keep this messed-up world shut out
Only so long, what we gonna do?

Swim up a river, the current pulls you down
No rest for the hopeless when the ship starts hittin' ground
The poison is the hustle, the whips about to crack
Get so high to gypsy moon ain't never gonna come back, no, yeah
The sun can rise in the mornin', that's true
But it's one dark afternoon, angel, ooh...

Sentenced to the fire, hear the mission bell
The world is gettin' hotter than hell
Spinnin' in a circle, wishin' in a well
The devil's gettin' smarter
And the world is gettin' hotter than hell
Gettin' hotter than hell

A hero on the tv falls before the crowd
Starve without a reason, cry without a sound
Beverly hills to harlem, I wonder, I wonder who's the guide
And the face of ancient stories swims against the tide
Monkey in the middle still laughin' at us all, and we slide

Sentenced to the fire, hear the mission bell
The world is gettin' hotter than hell
Spinnin' in a circle, wishin' in a well
The devil's gettin' smarter
And the world is gettin' hotter

Pray for the sinner and suffer the fool
There's a tale of the dark
Where carnival lights wipe the stars from the sky
And it's your fault and mine
That the pages of time draw the blank
Draw the blank

Sentenced to the fire, hear the mission bell
The world is gettin' hotter than hell
Spinnin' in a circle, wishin' in a well
The devil's gettin' smarter
And the world is gettin' hotter than hell
Hotter than hell