The Ransom

I wandered far along the stony banks of Jordan
And I stumbled through the brambles cut and bruised
I went searching for the fragrant Rose of Sharon
And brought home half the burning desert in my shoes

We stepped from darkness into this dawn ablaze
Me, the hostage all of my days
And he, the one was nailed upon the sturdy pole
Who paid his life as the ransom for my soul

I was given not a crust of bread, nor water
When I cried out to my captor for release
I was bound with heavy chains of my own making
And I was cast in with the harlots and the thieves

We stepped from darkness into this dawn ablaze
Me, the hostage all of my days
And he, the one was nailed upon the sturdy pole
Who paid his life as the ransom for my soul

If a hundred bags of silver had been the trade
Such an easy bargain it would have made
But he, the one was nailed upon the sturdy pole
Paid his life as the ransom for my soul

Written by Craig Bickhardt
Copyright 1995 &2001 Almo Music Corp. (ASCAP)/ Craig Bickhardt (ASCAP)
All rights administered by Almo Music Corp. on behalf of Craig Bickhardt and itself for the world.