The sap was still oozing when I got there
I placed my hands upon it
A battlefield nurse, tending to the wounds of the dead
Proud crowns trampled on the ground
Regicide has occurred
Who will rule with our queen mother dead
Corporate laws, chain saws

Ring, ring, ring around
Ashes, ashes we all fall down
Shoot ‘em up, chop ‘em down
Bang bang you’re dead
Ashes, ashes, ashes we all fall down

Her blood had stopped flowing long before they found her
Joey Armstrong was murdered
In California, July, 1999
Yeah, they caught the guy who did it
He confessed he had a problem
He said sorry
I’ve just always wanted to kill, wanted to kill women

And we stand like a forest in silent desperation
Wondering who’s the next to fall
We are victims
We are murderers
One and all

I’ve heard the shots outside my window in Chicago
I’ve wondered who might be wounded
And then closed my eyes and gone back to sleep
Columbine, Cabrini Green, Columbia River Valley
It’s all the same
Just a different set of weapons
And different names on the graves

Ashes to ashes to ashes we all fall down