The child grew up a clever sort of chap

And he became a mullah, like his dad --

Spent many years in exile and disgrace

Because he told the world the Shah was bad.

'Believe in God,' he said, 'believe in me.

Believe me when I tell you who I am.

Now chop the arm of wickedness away.

Hear what I say, I am the great Imam.'

................................................

From heresy to heresy to fire

From clerisy to clerisy to fear

From litany to litany to sword

From fallacy to fallacy to wrong

................................................

And so the Shah was forced to flee abroad.

The Imam was the ruler in his place.

He started killing everyone he could

To make up for the years of his discgrace.

And when there were no enemies at home

He sent his men to Babylon to fight.

And when he'd lost an army in that way

He knew what God was telling him was right.

................................................

From poverty to poverty to wrath

From agony to agony to doubt

From malady to malady to shame

From misery to misery to fight

................................................

He sent the little children out to war.

They went out with his portrait in their hands.

The desert and the marshes filled with blood.

The mothers heard the news in Isfahan.

Now Babylon is buried under dirt.

Persepolis is peeping through the sand.

The child who saw his father's killer killed

Has slaughtered half the children in the land.

................................................

From felony

to robbery

to calumny

to rivalry

to tyranny

to dynasty

to villainy

to policy

to heresy

to clerisy

to litany

to fallacy

to poverty

to agony

to malady

to misery --

................................................

The song is yours. Arrange it as you will.

Remember where each word fits in the line

And every combination will be true

And every permutation will be fine:

................................................

From policy to felony to fear

From litany to heresy to fire

From villainy to tyranny to war

From tyranny to dynasty to shame

.........................................

From poverty to malady to grave

From malady to agony to spite

From agony to misery to hate

From misery to policy to fight!