Text: Van Morrison. Hard Nose The Highway. The Great Deception.

Did you ever hear about the great deception?
Well the plastic revolutionaries take the money and run
Have you ever been down to love city?
Where they rip you off with a smile and it don't take a gun

Don't it hurt so bad in love city
Don't it make you not want to bother at all
And don't they look so self righteous
When they pin you up against the wall

Did you ever, ever see the people
With the tear drops in their eyes?
I just can't stand it, stand it no how
Living in this world of lies

Did you ever hear about the rock and roll singers
Got three or four Cadillacs
Saying power to the people, dance to the music
Wants you to pat him on the back

Have you ever heard about the great Rembrandt?
Have you ever heard about how he could paint?
And he didn't have enough money for his brushes
And they thought it was rather quaint

But you know it's no use repeating
And you know it's no use to think about it
'Cause when you stop to think about it
You don't need it

Have you ever heard about the great
Hollywood motion picture actor
Who knew more than they did?
And the newspapers didn't cover the story
Just decided to keep it hid

Somebody started saying it was an inside job
Whatever happened to him
Last time they saw him down on the bowery
With his lip hanging off an old rusty bottle of gin

Have you ever heard about the so-called hippies
Down on the far side of the tracks?
They take the eyeballs straight out of your head
Say son, kid, do you want your eyeballs back

Did you ever see the people
With the tear drops in their eyes?
Just can't stand it no how
Living in this world of lies