Lyrics

I want the garlic and the roses
I want the thunder and the tea
I want the argument at midnight
And the making up at three
I want the wrinkles and the laughter
I want the sweat and the perfume
I want to be so deeply in it
That I fill up every room

They say transcend, they say float higher
They say the body is the cage
But I have read the mystic's footnotes
And the mystic loved the stage
The holy drunk who danced with beggars
The sage who ate with both his hands
The enlightenment that does not flinch
From human sweat and human plans

Half-hearted hallelujahs never changed a thing
If you're going to praise this life -

Say yes with your whole mouth!
From the belly, from the ground!
Say yes to the mess, say yes to the feast
Say yes to the beauty and the beast
Say yes with your whole mouth!
Let the neighbors hear the sound!
Not a whisper, not a maybe
Life deserves your loudest praise

I want the hospital, the wedding
I want the funeral, the birth
I want the salt of every ocean
Concentrated on this earth
Don't give me half a life in heaven
When I could have the whole thing here
A mystic drunk on Monday morning
Laughing through her Monday fear

Polite devotion never cracked the sky in two
If you're going to love this life -

Say yes with your whole mouth!
From the belly, from the ground!
Say yes to the mess, say yes to the feast
Say yes to the beauty and the beast
Say yes with your whole mouth!
Let the neighbors hear the sound!
Not a whisper, not a maybe
Life deserves your loudest praise

Zorba dances! Buddha smiles!
They were never miles apart
One foot in the mud, one hand on the stars
That's the art, that's the art, that's the art!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
With my whole mouth, with my whole life
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I say yes