Electric light, bright and harsh
Cuts the night, breaks the dark
Engine noise and plastic toys
Crooked rhymes and power lines
This world is a hard, hard place
Let me be soft in it

Too much speed, too much sound
Too many roads cover tender ground
Too many guns, too much war
Too much chasing after more
This world is a hard, hard place
Let me be soft in it

We've got piles of wealth, stacks of rage
We're living in a strange age
Broken hearts, broken glass
Walk careful now, you might cut yourself

Give me soft hands, soft eyes
Soft belly, soft mind
Hard is strong -- so we've been told
But the water wears away the stone

Men of steel, prison bars
We don't know who we are
If I must be a part of it
Let me be soft-hearted
This world is a hard, hard place
Let me be soft in it
This world is a hard, hard place
Let me be soft in it