The Garden Of Allah

Album: Actual Miles: Don Henley's Greatest Hits (1995)
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  • It was a pretty big year for fashion
    A lousy year for rock and roll
    The people gave their blessings to crimes of passion
    It was a dark, dark night of the collective soul
    Now was somewhere out on riverside
    By the El Royale Hotel
    When a stranger appeared in a cloud of smoke
    I thought I knew him all too well

    He said now that I have your attention
    I got somethin' I want to say
    You may not want to hear it
    I'm gonna tell it to you anyway
    You know, I've always liked you, boy
    Cause you were not afraid of me
    But things are gonna get mighty rough
    Here in Gomorrah-By-The-Sea

    He said it's just like home
    It's so damned hot, I can't stand it
    My fine seersucker suit is all soakin' wet

    And the hills are burning
    The wind is raging
    And the clock strikes midnight
    In the Garden of Allah
    (In the Garden of Allah)

    Nice car
    I love those Bavarians, so meticulous
    You know, I remember a time when things were a lot more
    Fun around here
    When good was good, and evil was evil
    Before things got so, fuzzy
    Yeah, I was once a golden boy like you
    And I was summoned to the halls of power in the heavenly court
    And I dined with the deities who looked upon me with favor
    For my talents my creativity
    And we sat beneath the palms in the warm afternoons
    And drank the wine with Fitzgerald and Huxley

    And they pawned a biting phrase
    From tongues hot with blood
    And drained their pens of bitter ink
    Vainly reaching for the bottle full of empty Edens
    Branded special for the ones
    Who had come with great expectations
    To the perfumed halls of Allah
    For their time in the sun

    We were stokin' the fires
    And oilin' up the machinery
    Until the gods found out we had ideas of our own

    And the war was coming
    The earth was shaking
    And there was no more room
    In the Garden of Allah
    (In the Garden of Allah)

    Today I made an appearance downtown
    I am an expert witness, because I say I am
    And I said, gentleman, and I use that word loosely
    I will testify for you
    I'm a gun for hire, I'm a saint, I'm a liar
    Because there are no facts, there is no truth
    Just a data to be manipulated
    I can get any result you like
    What's it worth to ya?
    Because there is no wrong, there is no right
    And I sleep very well at night
    No shame, no solution
    No remorse, no retribution
    Just people selling T-shirts
    Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus
    And winning, winning, winning

    It was a pretty big year for predators
    The marketplace was on a roll
    And the land of opportunity
    Spawned a whole new breed of men without souls
    This year, notoriety got all confused with fame
    And the devil is downhearted, baby
    'Cause there's nothing left for him to claim

    He said it's just like home
    It's so low-down, I can't stand it
    I guess my work around here has all been done

    And the fruit is rotten
    The serpent's eyes shine
    As he wraps around the vine
    In the Garden of Allah
    (In the Garden of Allah)
    (In the Garden of Allah) Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 18

  • David from UsaThe actor in question is indeed Kirk Douglas. NOT James Coburn.
  • James from St.louis MoThe person playing the person in the video in the white suit is Michael Douglas’s father actor “Kirk Douglas.”
  • Dave from Mobile,alThe voice sounds like Frank Zappa to me.
  • Mark Flenner from FranceGentlemen, and I use the word loosely, it's James Coburn
  • Michael from Pottsville, PaSounds more like James Earl Jones to me.
  • Domapro from NjOh I love those Bavarians refers to BMW's motorcars
  • Elyse from L.a.Just looked up the devil's voice...
    It's says Kirk Douglas, but I don't know. Doesn't have his speech patterns
  • Brad from Lethbridge, Ab. CanadaThe line, ah I love those Bavarians, so meticulous always struck a chord in me as a reference to the Nazis. Many of the war criminals were found guilty because of the meticulous records they kept. This is only my personal spin on things, food for thought though.
  • Don from Northern HemisphereI've always thought The "Devils Voice" sounds like Wharf (Michael Dorn) from Star Trek : )
  • Michael Barrios from OkcWho is the devils voice?
  • Mark Flenner from FranceHenley wrote this song some years before Andrew Delbanco wrote The Death of Satan. The blur between good and evil resulting in American society's inability to distinguish between the two. Henleys lyrics are a tour de force and emphasises why the Eagles were so successful. A dream team of Glen Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy Schmidt, Randy Meisner, Don Felder
  • John from Orlando, FlSeeing the comments above about political parties is laughable. This song is a critique on all, regardless of politcal stripe.
  • Mary from Phoenix, AzI guess they don't want to add my songfact, so I'll just comment on it....

    Sheryl Crow does the back up vocals for this song.
  • Leah from Brooklyn, NyChris, Moral Relativism is making up a reason for starting a war out of whole fabric, in order to justify what you really want from the country you're about to attack. I don't think the last administration was Democratic.
  • Jess from St. Louis, MoTaken from eagles fan website: "Calling the song "a tale in which the Devil visits a large western city and finds that he has become obsolete," Henley's wry wit weaves an epic story about a devil in a seersucker suit who "decides to have one last hurrah by appearing as an expert witness at a local trial."

    Henley continues, "The devil sarcastically repeats the credo of the modern age which is not necessarily 'doing the right thing,' but rather 'winning at any cost.' Modern society has almost completely blurred the line between right and wrong."
    May 09

  • Chris from Tulsa, OkDon Henley's a strange one. He's a big supporter of the Democrats - the party of evil, or at least more evil. Yet his music decries the very thing they most stand for: moral relativism. 10-18-8.
  • Ghi ~ from Vancouver, Canada"I will testify for you, I'm a gun for hire, I'm a Saint, I'm a liar. Because there are no facts, there is no truth. Just data to be manipulated..." is a definite reference to the OJ Simpson trial and the notorious cast of lawyers involved with it. i've long thought that this was the underlying inspiration of the song. the "pathetic little circus" being the media frenzy at the LA County Courthouse. "No shame, no solution, no remorse, no retribution" addressing the final outcome. i remember going down to LA just after the trial. i couldn't go anywhere without people voicing their opinions and acute bewilderment. not to mention the BS. i found myself at Mesa Luna talking to the manager there as he divulged his clairvoyant knowledge that something bad was going to happen that fateful night. then i went to my friend's son's hockey game only to discover that one of the other proud parents watching their kid was Robert Shapiro and a key funder of the team. then i ended up at the Rainbow sitting at a table with friends and Ron Shipp, who was the fourth prosecution witness in the trial. LA is a really strange place.
  • Brett from Dallas, TxThis song is about the devil that visits a large western city only to realize that he has become obsolete.
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