Really don't mind if you sit this one out My words but a whisper, your deafness a SHOUT I may make you feel but I can't make you think Your sperm's in the gutter, your love's in the sink
So you ride yourselves over the fields And you make all your animal deals And your wise men don't know how it feels To be thick as a brick
And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away In the tidal destruction, the moral melee The elastic retreat rings the close of play As the last wave uncovers the newfangled way
But your new shoes are worn at the heels And your suntan does rapidly peel And your wise men don't know how it feels To be thick as a brick
And the love that I feel is so far away I'm a bad dream that I just had today And you shake your head and say it's a shame
Spin me back down the years And the days of my youth Draw the lace and black curtains And shut out the whole truth
Spin me down the long ages Let them sing the song
See there! A son is born And we pronounce him fit to fight There are black-heads on his shoulders And then he pees himself in the night
We'll make a man of him Put him to a trade Teach him to play Monopoly And how to sing in the rain
The Poet and the Painter casting shadows on the water As the sun plays on the infantry returning from the sea The doer and the thinker: no allowance for the other As the failing light illuminates the mercenary's creed
The home fire burning, the kettle almost boiling But the master of the house is far away The horses stamping, their warm breath clouding In the sharp and frosty morning of the day
And the Poet lifts his pen While the Soldier sheaths his sword
And the youngest of the family is moving with authority Building castles by the sea He dares the tardy tide to wash them all aside
The cattle quietly grazing at the grass down by the river Where the swelling mountain water moves onward to the sea The builder of the castles renews the age-old purpose And contemplates the milking girl whose offer is his need
The young men of the household have all gone into service And are not to be expected for a year The innocent young master, thoughts moving ever faster Has formed the plan to change the man he seems
And the Poet sheaths his pen While the Soldier lifts his sword
And the oldest of the family is moving with authority Coming from across the sea He challenges the son who puts him to the run
What do you do when the old man's gone? Do you wanna be him? And your real self sings the song Do you wanna free him?
No one to help you get up steam And the whirlpool turns you way off-beam
I've come down from the upper class To mend your rotten ways My father was a man-of-power Whom everyone obeyed
So come on, all you criminals! I've got to put you straight Just like I did with my old man Twenty years too late
Your bread and water's going cold Your hair's too short and neat I'll judge you all and make damn sure That no one judges me
You curl your toes in fun as you smile at everyone You meet the stares, you're unaware that your doings aren't done And you laugh most ruthlessly as you tell us what not to be But how are we supposed to see where we should run?
I see you shuffle in the courtroom With your rings upon your fingers And your downy little sidies And your silver buckle shoes
Playing at the hard case You follow the example Of the comic-paper idol Who lets you bend the rules
So come on, ye childhood heroes! Won't you rise up from the pages Of your comic-books, your super crooks And show us all the way?
Well, make your will and testament Won't you join your local government? We'll have Superman for president L