I knew a man who thanked God for the good things His mind made clear by his terminal disease And he wept for those who did not understand him But his tears will be washed to the sea There is a woman lives in midtown Manhattan And the lines in her face seem to speak She forgives all the loved ones who put them there And her tears will be washed to the sea I'm not a man you might call optimistic Sometimes it pains me to see what I see But truth is a river that is sober and slow And tears will be washed to the sea And tears will be washed to the sea