Man In the Middle by Russell A. Taylor
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VW4ZXbODFBU&si=j4bXQM2URqXUEIe6 Verse 1 Three crosses on a hard dirt hill, wind cuttin’ like a blade We were thieves and we were finished, gettin’ back what we got paid One cussed at God and iron, spit and laughed through broken teeth I just hung there watchin’ daylight leakin’ out of me Verse 2 I’d run wild down back roads, lied when truth would do Stole what wasn’t mine to take, hurt folks I never knew Now my hands were pinned wide open, couldn’t hide what I’d become And that’s when I looked over at the Man in the middle one Chorus The Man in the middle said I could come home Ain’t had nothin’ but a whisper and a heart of stone No time to make it right, no good left to show Just a beat-up prayer, “Don’t leave me here alone” He said, “Today.” Not “someday.” Not “when you get control.” The Man in the middle said I could come home Verse 3 The other one kept hollerin’, “If you’re God, then prove it now Get us down and save us, show these people anyhow” But the Man in the middle stayed quiet, took it all on the chin Like He’d come to carry more than nails and skin Verse 4 I said, “We earned what’s comin’, you and me, we know it’s true But He ain’t done a thing wrong, He don’t deserve this too” Then I swallowed all my pride, and with my last bit of breath I said, “Remember me, Lord, when You step past death” Chorus The Man in the middle said I could come home Ain’t had nothin’ but a whisper and a heart of stone No time to make it right, no good left to show Just a beat-up prayer, “Don’t leave me here alone” He said, “Today.” Not “someday.” Not “when you get control.” The Man in the middle said I could come home Bridge No altar, no water, no money, no name Just a busted man starin’ straight at grace And He met me right there where the shame lives at Turned my last wrong turn into a welcome back Final Chorus The Man in the middle said I could come home Right in the dirt, right in the hurt, right down to the bone