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 he pees himself in the night.
We'll make a man of him
put him to trade
teach him to play Monopoly
and 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 do-er 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 want to be him?
And your real self sings the song.
Do you want to free him?
No one to help you get up steam --
and the whirlpool turns you `way off-beam.

LATER

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 is 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
let Robin save the day.

You put your bet on number one
and it comes up every time.
The other kids have all backed down and
they put you first in line.
And so you finally ask yourself just how big you are
and take your place in a wiser world
of bigger motor cars.
And you wonder who to call on.

So! Where the hell was Biggles
when you needed him last Saturday?
And where were all the sportsmen
who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall --
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back
edition of the Boy Scout Manual.

LATER

See there! A man born -
and we pronounce him fit for peace.
There's a load lifted from his shoulders
with the discovery of his disease.
We'll take the child from him
put it to the test
teach it to be a wise man,
how to fool the rest.

QUOTE

We will be geared to the average
rather than the exceptional
God is an overwhelming responsibility
we walked through the maternity ward
and saw 218 babies wearing nylons
cats are on the upgrade
upgrade? Hipgrave. Oh, Mac.

LATER

In the clear white circles of morning wonder,
I take my place with the lord of the hills.
And the blue-eyed soldiers stand slightly
discoloured (in neat little rows)
sporting canvas frills.
With their jock-straps pinching,
they slouch to attention,
while queueing for sarnies at the office canteen.
Saying -- how's your granny?
And good old Ernie: he coughed up
a tenner on a premium bond win.

The legends (worded in the ancient tribal hymn)
lie cradled in the seagull's call.
And all the promises they made are ground
beneath the sadist's fall.
The poet and the wise man stand behind the gun,
and signal for the crack of dawn.
Light the sun.

Do you believe in the day? Do you?
Believe in the day! The Dawn
Creation of the Kings has begun.
Soft Venus (lonely maiden)
brings the ageless one.
Do you believe in the day?
The fading hero has returned to the night -
and fully pregnant with the day,
wise men endorse the poet's sight.
Do you believe in the day? Do you?
Believe in the day!

Let me tell you the tales of your life
of your love and the cut of the knife
the tireless oppression
the wisdom instilled
the desire to kill or be killed.
Let me sing of the losers who lie
in the street as the last bus goes by.

The pavements are empty:
the gutters run red -- while the fool
toasts his god in the sky.

So come all ye young men
who are building castles!
Kindly state the time of the year
and join your voices in a hellish chorus.
Mark the precise nature of your fear.
Let me help you pick up your dead
as the sins of the father are fed with
the blood of the fools and
the thoughts of the wise and
from the pan under your bed.
Let me make you a present of song
as the wise man breaks wind and is gone
while the fool with the hour-glass
is cooking his goose and
the nursery rhyme winds along.

So! Come all ye young men
who are building castles!
Kindly state the time of the year
and join your voices in a hellish chorus.
Mark the precise nature of your fear.
See! The summer lightning casts its
bolts upon you and the hour of
judgement draweth near.
Would you be the fool stood in his suit of armour
or the wiser man who rushes clear.
So! Come on ye childhood heroes!
Won't your 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
let Robin save the day.
So! Where the hell was Biggles
when you needed him last Saturday?
And where were all the sportsmen
who always pulled you through?
They're all resting down in Cornwall -
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back
edition of the Boy Scout Manual.

OF COURSE

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.