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