JERICHO ROADS

Words and Music by Paul Lawrence Warren

Heading down I-35 with the top down and the radio on,

Just north of Rosedale and Berry streets, I found a Jericho road.

Their clothes were tattered and their faces looked worn, there in the chill of the early morn.

They were waiting and praying just for a chance to earn their daily bread.

Going down Jericho Roads . . . what is that message deep down in my soul?

Going down Jericho Roads . . . am I to stop or just pass through?

On this Jericho Road . . .

I turned the corner and headed on, I couldn’t stop I was running late,

Driving south on Hemphill I found . . . another Jericho road.

The women at the shelter stood hopeful as one, as they finally found their safety in the new day sun.

I asked one what she hoped to find inside, and she said, “Peace, dignity, and real pride.”

Going down Jericho Roads . . . what is that message deep down in my soul?

Going down Jericho Roads . . . am I to stop or just pass through?

On this Jericho Road . . .

All that day I felt so troubled inside, I felt convicted by the Spirit with my eyes opened wide.

Everywhere I looked I saw the pain and despair of our brothers and our sisters in need of care.

Going down Jericho Roads . . . what is that message deep down in my soul?

Going down Jericho Roads . . . am I to stop or just pass through?

On this Jericho Road . . .

We’ve got to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, love and care for our young and our old.

We’ve got to heed the message deep down in our soul, going down these Jericho roads.

You see the man with AIDS, woman who’s beaten, newborn baby with no home of his own.

You see the disabled veteran, displaced worker, going down these Jericho roads.

You see the isolation of our elders, annihilation of our youth on the streets,

You see the scared survivors of nature’s fury, going down these Jericho roads.

Am I to stop or just pass through? On these Jericho roads . . .