(Lou Reed/Ruben Blades)

There was a time when ignorance made
our innocence strong
There was a time when we all thought
we could do no wrong
There was a time, so long ago
there was a time
But here we are in the calm before the storm

While the orchestra plays, they build barricades
to help close the doors
While the musician sings, the holocaust rings
cymbals of war
In the cities we stare at the things that were there
and no longer are and in our hearts
Here we are again in the calm before the storm, oh

There was a time when we had an idea
whose time hadn’t come
They kept changing its name, so we could still pretend
it was not really gone
We heard our screams turn into song
and back into screams again and here we are again
Here we are in the calm before the storm, oh

Here we are, here we are
in the calm before the storm