“It began when they come took me from my homeAnd put me in Dead Row,Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know.And I'll say it againI..am..not..afraid..to..die.And the mercy seat is waitingAnd I think my head is burningAnd in a way I'm yearningTo be done with all this measuring of truth.An eye for an eyeA tooth for a toothAnd anyway I told the truthAnd I'm not afraid to die.And the mercy seat is burningAnd I think my head is glowingAnd in a way I'm hopingTo be done with all this weighing up of truth.An eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd I've got nothing left to loseAnd I'm not afraid to die.And the mercy seat is glowingAnd I think my head is smokingAnd in a way I'm hopingTo be done with all this looks of disbelief.An eye for an eyeAnd a tooth for a toothAnd anyway there was no proofNor a motive why.And the mercy seat is waitingAnd I think my head is burningAnd in a way I'm yearningTo be done with all this measuring of truth.An eye for an eyeAnd a truth for a truthAnd anyway I told the truthBut I'm afraid I told a lie.”

“Into the mercy seat I climbMy head is shaved, my head is wiredAnd like a moth that triesTo enter the bright eyeI go shuffling out of lifeJust to hide in death awhileAnd anyway I never lied.”

“You're not going to die," I told her, lifting my head to look at her. "I'm not done writing songs about you yet.”

“I make a joke of it, but... but I'm afraid of death." He straightened up and turned to look into Joseph's eyes. Joseph saw the fear there and was shocked by the intensity of it. "Are you afraid to die, Joseph?" Joseph considered for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not afraid to now, but then I'm not dying now. When I come to that moment, I will probably be... what's the right word? Maybe frightened in a way that you're frightened when an experience lies before you you've never had. "No more than that?" "I hope not.”

“I am afraid. I'm afraid of everything. I'm afraid of the dark, of closed-in spaces, of being alone and of getting too close. I'm afraid that I'll never again have the life I've always known, my feet in the dust and my heart full. I'm afraid of being alive; I'm afraid to die.”

“Where was my head just then? I've already said I'm plain yet all of a sudden I think I'm The Shit? I'm not myself, my thoughts just took an uncharacteristic turn to vanity.”