On The Via Dolorosa
We are on the Via Dolorosa the way of
The Cross having just left the Praetorium
Where Pilate said to Christ I washed
My hands off the matter
And turned him over to the people and told
Them to do what they would with him
There's no traffic here the
Streets's very narrow
Little children playing along the street the
Street's about ten feet wide
You see the third station of the Cross
Where Christ almost fell under the
Weight of the Cross
He's kneeling and the fourth station
Of the Cross over there
Over forty or fifty feet
Farther toward Calvary
Where His mother came up to Him
And said my Son what's happened
And she sees Him kneeling under the
Heavy weight of the Cross too
Continuing on now toward Calvary from the
Fourth station of the Cross
We left the Praetorium where
Christ was sentenced
And where he was turned over
To the Jewish people and they were
Offered Barabbas and they said
No give us Christ we'll crucify him
Following along the stations of the
Cross passing station No 5
And they say at this point that Simon
A Cyrenean coming out of the country
On him they laid the Cross they
Made him bear it for Jesus
And they continued on the way of
The Cross as we are now
Leaving place No 5 toward Calvary it's
A long long way from here
You can see standing here between station
No 5 and No 6 two hundred yards at least up
The steps toward Calvary's hill
All along it's a very narrow street
Ten or twelve feet wide
Shops on each side little children
Playing old men and women
Carrying their bread dressed in
Their long robes
Just as they did two thousand years ago
The music here in the background
Is a radio playing (is that an Arab station)
Still continuing up the way of
The Cross toward Calvary
The voices you hear in the background are
Pilgrims from all over the world
All along the Via Dolorosa
Here there are beggars
(I suppose mostly Arab beggars)
Passing station No 10 continuing
On to Calvary they are all along the way
They say that they are all blind
They say that the reason there
Are so many blind along
This part of the country is
Because of the dust
Everywhere the wind is blowing and
The dust is flying
And of course there are germs in
The dust that diseases their eyes
And the dust it'self puts them out
On the way to Calvary we pass
Another beggar sitting along the way
All kinds of shops pilgrims continuing on
The same way we're going
Now closer to Calvary the
Way really gets crowded
It's still the same very
Narrow street though