The song starts off with a man on a street corner (possibly Steve Earle) who has a hundred dollars for what I do believe are drugs (if it's Steve Earle probably heroin). The man then goes on to ask society/god for mercy.
The next bit is about a man with a wife and children. The man does something that's upseting to the family (either drugs or cheats on his wife). He lies to his family about it but has s** with his wife in a quest for mercy.
The next part of the song involves the wife finding out about the affair or drugs and she buys a gun and kills herself looking for mercy.