Richie Havens › Lyrics › The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)

So I told him that he'd better shut his mouth
And do his job like a man
And he answered, "Listen
Father, I will never kill another"

Thinks he's better
Than his brother who died
What the hell does he think he's doing
To his father who brought him up right?

Take your place on the Great Mandala
As it moves through your brief moment in time
Win or lose now, you must choose now
And if you lose you're only losing your life

Tell the jailer not to bother
With his meal of bread and water today
He is fasting 'til the killing's over

He's a martyr, he thinks he's a prophet
But he's a coward, he's just playing a game
He can't do it, he can't change it
And it's been going on for ten thousand years

Take your place on the Great Mandala
As it moves through your brief moment of time
Win or lose now, you must choose now
And if you lose you're only losing your life

What's that rumbling in the courtyard?
Seven thousand faces are turned to the gate
What's that they are saying? Kill the traitor
Kill the traitor, kill the traitor, kill the traitor

Take your place on the Great Mandala
As it moves through your brief moment of time
Win or lose now, you must choose now
And if you lose you're only losing your life

Tell the people they are safe now
Hunger stopped him, now he lies still in his cell
Death has gagged all his accusations

We are free now, we can kill now
We can hate now, now we can end the world
We're not guilty, he was crazy
And it's been going on for ten thousand years

Take your place on the Great Mandala
As it moves through your brief moment of time
Win or lose now, we must choose now
And if you lose you're only wasting your life

If you lose you're only wasting your life
If you lose you're only wasting your life
If you lose you're only wasting your life
If you lose you've only wasted your life