John Wesley Harding - Dead On Arrival lyrics

They gave me doses of dioxide

Started coughing constantly

Nursed inside my wounded pride

Poisoned arrow in my knee

Then they stood around my bed

Said I was getting on famously

A faceless man in a TV van

Reprogrammed my naivety

I met you sparring in a corner

And you spat right in my face

People say it looks like tears

Because they'll have seen the trace

And they take it as their job of work

To put me right back in my place

And I pretend that I wanna be

A contender in the human race

Now when you hit me

I don't cry

The only thing that remains for me

Is to learn how I can say goodbye

Cos I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival

I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival

I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival

You know I thought that this was mist

But now I guess it is pollution

Caused by an economy of half-truths

And the resulting confusion

You sign a form the day you're born

That commits you to collusion

With society's special standards

And its optical illusions

Someone says you're still alive

Gives you great expectations

But now you know you're dead inside

Cos you feel no shock vibrations

Now you must control yourself

You can always cheat at patience

Soon I'll be right in the dog house

Food for FBI alsations

Now when you hit me

I don't cry

The only thing that remains for me

Is to learn how I can say goodbye

Cos I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival

I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival

I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival

Dead on arrival