The Soldier and the Whipping Boy (Duet)

[voice 1 = regular text, voice 2 = italics, together = bold, for the tune, think Leonard's Cohen's "Coming Back To You"]

I'm the soldier of a thousand wars
As I stand before the king,
With the lords and ladies pressing round
To hear the news I bring.
"Did you make your stand in foreign lands?
Was the enemy too cruel?
Was the prince a hero to his men
Or a coward and a fool?"

In a corner of the court I stand,
In the riches of a prince,
And I fear the judgement you might make
Of folly and of sins,
For your cold disdain will bring me pain
And your mercy bring me joy.
Speak soft, I pray, for it's me who'll pay
As the prince's whipping boy.

O, I would not bring that pain to you
With the anger from my lips,
Though I know that every word I say
Will be spoken with a whip,
For with every breath, I must speak of death
Or bite my lashing tongue.
So I'll build a cage to hold my rage
For the love of one so young.

You have held me when I needed you
In the comfort of your touch.
Let me hold you too, let me comfort you
When the battle is too much.
But you say it's fine, you drink your wine,
And you play the smiling rake.
If you will not speak even though you weep,
I fear that you will break

I have stood alone at an empty throne,
A bastard born to bleed.
Now you give your arm and your easy charm,
But I don't know what you need.
I would tell you true if I only knew,
But there's nothing words can say
Since they called me brave by my brother's grave
And I buried the summer's day.

In a corner of your life I lie,
In the comfort of your bed,
And I fear the judgement you might hide
In the lash of words unsaid,
For your cold disdain will bring me pain
And your mercy bring me joy.
Speak up, I pray, for it's me who'll pay
As a soldier's whipping boy.

I'm the soldier of a thousand wars,
And my armour's on so long
I've forgotten what it is
To not be silent, proud and strong.
But if I could strip this steel from me
And stand before you bare,
The scars you'd see, my history,
Is the pain you also wear.

We are soldiers of the wars we choose
We are whipping boys of fate
And the scars we wear, the griefs we bear
Are carved in love and hate. [Some are small and some are great.]
So we curse and cry, we laugh and lie,
At our histories of harm [With our mysteries and charms]
Just a soldier and a whipping boy
Each in the other's arms.

So I Walk These Streets Alone

So I walk these streets alone
And I guess I always will
A shadow drifting over stone
A whisper of ‘until’...
Until tomorrow is another night
Another chance to spark a light
That’s not to light a cigarette
A sheer delight that might be... yet...
Another smoke ring blown
Till then I walk these streets alone

So I walk these streets alone
While others lie in love
I look at the skies, it doesn’t matter
If it’s rain or stars or birds that fly
Up above
But still I sing of lovers and dances
And magical trances
And chances and glances
And tragic romances
And I serenade
For the money I’m paid

So I walk these streets alone
A singer and a bum
No crime and yet I must atone
In rhyme and then in time perhaps
I won’t be on my own
With just a guitar and a drum
And an audience that's numb
With drink and laughter that they own
While I just walk these streets alone
Till then I walk these streets alone.

So I walk these streets alone [repeat to fade]