BARS ON THE DOOR (McCormick/Allen/Flowerree) Father Michael came to Memphis on a Greyhound bus A suitcase full of dreams and a heart full of trust Called to comfort the afflicted in a run down neighborhood Now he wonders if he’s doin’ any good After Sanctuary shootouts and crack pipes in the pews He prays forgiveness for what he had to do How can he reach out to the homeless and the poor When his church has bars on the door…..He knows…. It’s hard to find salvation when you’re locked out on the street And hard to praise the Lord when you dig through trash to eat Jesus opened His heart to the drunkard and the whore Now His church has bars on the door With a cart full of cans and tape on his shoes Billy fights off his demons and searches for truth He picks up an old flier that says, “Welcome today” For hot food and prayer at Seventh and Main Billy stumbles down Main Street past hookers and bars And talks to the streetlights that he thinks are stars He screams and curses, and says, “Where are you Lord” As he kicks at the bars on the door It’s hard to find salvation when you’re locked out on the street And hard to praise the Lord when you dig through trash to eat Jesus opened Heaven to the drunkard and the whore Now His church has bars on the door Father Michael’s at the lock-up When they drag Billy in Billy’s only crime is that his mind is worn a little thin They both find redemption kneeling on the jailhouse floor A church with bars on the door You can find salvation and the bread of life to eat Locked up in a cell or locked out on the street Doesn’t matter if you’re one of the sinners or the poor Or your church has bars on the door © Lucky Lucy Music(BMI)/Little Tin God Music(ASCAP)/Flinging Buddha Music(BMI)
