She was heavy with child, he had a hungry look They were out on the road just waitin' to be took And I wasn't much better, all I owned in a sack But I had enough street smarts to watch my back And he asked me if I knew a place they could go To keep from the wind, away from the rain and the drivin' snow He said I'm good with my hands, I can work my way But I don't know a soul hear, there's not much I can pay I just shook my head and all I could say was Don't be surprised when they turn you away I said your child will be born to a heartless place If he tries to do good, they'll just spit in his face He might heal the sick, make a lame man walk Draw big crowds of people to hear his talk But he'd make rich men nervous, they'd take him away Put him on trial, and twist his words just to make make him pay He might be humble, the gentlest around But that won't stop some men from puttin' him down You see I don't have much faith in people these days So don't be surprised if they turn him away I guess someday maybe Rome will fall Peace could live inside Jerusalem's walls Men will succeed at lots of things they try Grow food in the desert, even learn how to fly In two thousand years they'll look back on our day And study about us, wonder how in the world we could live this way But the more things change the more they stay the same Men will never give up their hurtful games A few will stand tall, a few will walk straight But most of us will fall to the fear and hate I guess at the time it didn't seem so odd But that was Joseph and Mary, the mother of God I wouldn't change a word if I saw them today And I wouldn't be surprised if they turned them away He said I'm good with my hands, I can work my way But I don't know a soul hear, there's not much I can pay I just shook my head and all I could say was Don't be surprised when they turn you away
Read the complete lyrics to "Don’t Be Surprised" by Tim O’Brien from the album "When No One’s Around". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Country, Bluegrass.
"Don’t Be Surprised" is performed by Tim O’Brien. from the album "When No One’s Around" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL.
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"Don’t Be Surprised" is credited to Tim O’Brien. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.
"Don’t Be Surprised" appears on "When No One’s Around".
Visit the Tim O’Brien artist page at /artist/tim-obrien for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.
