The Rake's Regress

Verse 1 - The Madhouse 
Gather round, my fevered bedfellow friends Stop your screaming and scratching the walls Come close, my moonlit Bedlamite kin Let me tell you the tale of my fall Strap in, all you angel-anarchists Beau-bedraggled and bold For the story of a daring escape From the straitjacket sewn for my soul Verse 2 - The prison 
Twenty years a prisoner, bound and foresworn In a fortress of so feckless and dry Twenty years a fiddler, playing for time In a dungeon of my own design  Twenty Lears' worth of indecision Slowly wasting away Too blind to see the gates were unlocked Too unwilling to enter the fray Pre Chorus 1 - The Gaming House 
And all the games of skill and chance would tantalise Always swindling myself out of time  Every roll of the dice, took my eyes off the prize, I sighed, Chorus 1 - The marriage 
 You there - let us pray Here comes the pastor, bible out to marry me  All here - you gonna pay Been down so long, you'll say yes to anything Hold on - if I may! The blood in the wine, it should've been a giveaway Church door - getaway It's not you, it's me - I only came to claw my way back Throw me to the wolves, I'll come back at the head of the pack Throw me to the wolves, I'll come back at the head of the pack

 Verse 2 - The Arrest 
Like a convict on a desperate chase Apprehended and stopped in the street (you knave and villain) Abandoning my men and sedan I was saved from the jaws of defeat (and sinful living) Rapscallions plundered purse and pocket I began not to care (the flesh is willing) The judgement came as blessed relief I was tried and found wanting repair 
Pre Chorus 2 - The Orgy 
As I stripped my habits in a sea of limbs "It's good to party, there is no doubt But it's better to have Something to party about", they said... Chorus 2 - The Levee 
"Born free - here we are Too blind to know that never isn't good enough Off key - but always here Too loud to hear - too deaf to give a damn about" Deep freeze - debutante! Smelling the coffee, banishing the entourage Stop me - if you've heard this before Won't die in the wool, I'm not your sacrificial lamb, jack. Throw me to the wolves, I'll come back at the head of the pack Throw me to the wolves, I'll come back at the head of the pack

 Middle 8 - The Heir 
Now I've found my tribe Now I'm purified I can see what I gotta do My decline and fall Can't be bad at all If it led Me to you Outro pt1 
 Deal me a wildcard - let the cards play where they fall Rumours of my demise - are quite overstated, i'm sure Outro pt2 I was born under a century moon At the dawn of an in-between age (of sons and daughters) I was torn between the now and the soon And the chaos of Finding My Way (through fire and water) I was raised with the promise of it all Of the rise with no fall (like lambs to slaughter) Just in time to see it crumble and fall  Torn to pieces in front of my eyes