Song Description

HOPELESS MAN GOES TO CHURCH BUT DOORS ARE LOCKED - HE GETS LOCKED UP AND THE PASTOR WHO HAS TO LOCK HIS CHURCH IS AT JAIL - HAPPY ENDING

Lyrics

BARS ON THE DOOR
(McCormick/Allen/Flowerree

Father Michael came to Memphis on a Greyhound bus
A suitcase full of dreams and a heart full of trust
Called to comfort the afflicted in a run down neighborhood
Now he wonders if he's doin' any good
After sanctuary shootouts and crack pipes in the pews
He prays forgiveness for what he had to do
How can he reach out to the homeless and the poor
When his church has bars on the door

He's know It's hard to find salvation when you're locked out on the street
Hard to praise the Lord when you dig through trash to eat
Jesus opened heart (heaven-2nd chorus) to the drunkard and the whore
Now his church has bars on the door

With a cart full of cans and tape on his shoes
Billy fights off the demons and searches for truth
He picks up an old flyer that says welcome today
For hot food and prayer at 7th and Main
Billy stumbles down Main Street past hookers and bars
Talks to the streetlights that he thinks are stars
He screams and curses says where are you Lord
As he kicks at the bars on the door

Chorus

Father Michael's at the lock up when they drag Billy in
Billy's only crime is that his mind is worn a little thin
They both find redemption kneeling on the jailhouse floor
A church with bars on the door

You can find salvation and the bread of life to eat
Locked up in a cell or locked out on the street
Doesn't matter if you're one of the sinners or the poor
Or your church has bars on the door


© B.McCormick, D.Allen, B.Flowerree
Bob McCormick 610-429-9943 / 484-678-0984 bnmccormick@comcast.net