it was just a little while past the sunset strip
they found the girl's body in an open pit
her mouth was sewn shut, but her eyes were still wide
gazing through the fog to the other side
they booked me on a whim and threw me deep in jail
with no bail, sitting silent on a rusty pail
just gazing at the marks on the opposite wall
remembering the music of my lover's call
so you make no mistake
i know just what it takes
to pull a man's soul back from heaven's gates
i've been wandering in the dark about as long as sin
but they say it's never too late to start again
oh when, oh when
will the spirit come a calling for my soul's sin
oh when, oh when
will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
it was dark as the grave, it was just about three
when the warden with his key came to set me free
they gave me five dollars and a secondhand suit
a pistol and a hat and a worn out flute
so i took a bus down to the rio grande
and i shot a man down on the edge of town
then i stole me a horse and i rode it around
til the sheriff pulled me in and sat me down
he said, you make no mistake
i know just what it takes
to pull a man's soul back from heaven's gates
i've been wandering in the dark about as long as sin
but they say it's never too late to start again
oh when, oh when
will the spirit come a calling for my soul to sin
oh when, oh when
will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
well the sheriff let me go with a knife and a song
so i took the first train up to oregon
and i killed the first man that i came upon
because the devil works quick, you know it don't take long
then i went to the river ford to take a swim
you know that black river water is as black as sin
and i washed myself clean as a newborn babe
and then i picked up a rock for to sharpen my blade
oh when, oh when
will the spirit come a calling for my soul's sin
oh when, oh when
will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?
oh when, oh when
will that black river water wash me clean again
oh when, oh when
will thee keys to the kingdom be mine again