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Why must I be the thief?
Why must I be the thief?
Oh Lord please won’t you tell me
Why must I be the thief?
Why must I be the thief?
He said to the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one
That’s black around, that always stares?
Why must I be the thief?
He asked of the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one
Who lived with an open hand?
Now why must I be the thief?
You’ve cursed with many clouds
And the hanging man without his hand
Looked beyond his heart
The thief was drawn to the cross
To share that other’s fate
But the Jesus man said, “Not now
My brother not now, it’s far too late”
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Do what you must
Take what you can
Steal the pride from every heart
Every angered man (3x)
I am the thief
I am the thief
And you will run
Yes and you will hide
But I’ll get you then
Yes I will
Because of you, because it’s justified
I will get you yet
Because it’s justified
I will get you yet
It’s justified
I will get you yet
It’s justified
Why must I be the thief?
Oh Lord please won’t you tell me
Why must I be the thief?
Why must I be the thief?
He said to the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one
That’s black around, that always stares?
Why must I be the thief?
He asked of the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one
Who lived with an open hand?
Now why must I be the thief?
You’ve cursed with many clouds
And the hanging man without his hand
Looked beyond his heart
The thief was drawn to the cross
To share that other’s fate
But the Jesus man said, “Not now
My brother not now, it’s far too late”
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Far too late
Do what you must
Take what you can
Steal the pride from every heart
Every angered man (3x)
I am the thief
I am the thief
And you will run
Yes and you will hide
But I’ll get you then
Yes I will
Because of you, because it’s justified
I will get you yet
Because it’s justified
I will get you yet
It’s justified
I will get you yet
It’s justified
Lyrics submitted by piewwe, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Track duration: 03:19
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Why must I be the thief?
Oh lord please won’t you tell me
Why must I be the thief?
Why must I be the thief?
He said to the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one
Whose like a rock
That always stands
Why must I be the thief
He asked of the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one who live with an open hand
Why must I be the thief
Who cursed and then he died
And the hanging man put out his hand
And looked beyond his eye
The thief he climbed that cross
To share that other’s fate
But the Jesus man said ‘not now
‘My brother not now it’s far too late
‘Far too late far too late
‘Far too late far too late
‘Far too late far too late
‘Far too late’
Do what you must
Take what you can
Steal the pride from every heart
And every angry man
Every angry man
Every angry man
Every angry man
I am the thief
I am the thief
And you may run, yes
And you may hide
But I’ll get you yet
Yes I will
Because you’re, ‘cos it’s just your pride
Just your pride
Pride pride
I will get you yet
It’s just your pride
Why must I be the thief?
Why must I be the thief?
Oh lord please won’t you tell me
Why must I be the thief?
Why must I be the thief?
He said to the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one
Who’s like a rock
That always stands
Why must I be the thief
He asked of the hanging man
And how come you’re the only one who lives with an open hand
Why must I be the thief
Who cursed and then he died
And the hanging man put out his hand
And looked beyond his eye
But you might be right: it could be '...who gives with an open hand'. Bit hard to hear exactly what he's singing though, eh?
He said to the hanging man
And how come you're the only one
Who's black around that always stands
Why must I be a thief
He asked to the hanging man
And how come you're the only one
Who gives with an open hand
Why must I be a thief
He cursed and then he cried
And the hanging man put out his hand
And looked beyond his eye
The thief he cried on the cross
To share that other's fate
But the Jesus man said not now
My brother not now its far too late
Far too late
Do what you must
Take what you can
Steal the pride from every heart of every angry man
Every angry man
Every angry man
Every angry man
I am the thief
I am the thief
And you can run
And you can hide
But I will get you yet, yes I will
Cause of you
Cause it's just your pride
GOd God... God Gooddddd!!!
I will get you yet
cause its just your pride
He asked to the hanging man
And how come you're the only one
Who's better off, and garble farble warble
Why must I be a thief
He asked to the hanging man
And how come you're the only one
Who gives with an open hand
Why must I be a thief
He cursed and then he cried
And the hanging man held out his hand
And looked beyond the skies
Do what you must
Take what you can
Steal the heart from every man
Every angered man
Every angered man
Every angered man
I am the thief
I am the thief
And you can run
And you can hide
But I will get you yet, yes I will
Cause of you
Cause it's just your pride
Cause it's justified
This is what I hear on these verses. Thanks for submitting this, is a really great song :)
As for the meaning, you have to understand a bit of Can's background. Basically, Can were a German band, but their at the time was Malcolm Mooney, an African-American sculptor living in Europe. Mooney supposedly wrote this about his lonliness and isolation living in Germany, as well as his crushing homesickness.
this song is unreleased but kicks ass! if u find any mistakes in the lyrics tell me and ill fix it
piewwe