Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (Part 1) Lyrics
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
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 new-fangled way
But your new shoes are worn at the heels
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 said, "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 a trade
Teach him to play Monopoly
Not 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 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
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 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 you take your place in a wiser world of bigger motor cars
Now 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 through?
They're all resting down in Cornwall
Writing up their memoirs
For a paper-back edition
Of the Boy Scout Manual
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Jethro Tull - Left Right
- Jethro Tull - This Is Not Love
- Jethro Tull - Strange Avenues
- Jethro Tull - Big Riff And Mando
- Jethro Tull - The Whaler's Dues
- Jethro Tull - Another Christmas Song
- Jethro Tull - Heavy Water
- Jethro Tull - Rock Island
- Jethro Tull - Undressed To Kill
- Jethro Tull - Ears Of Tin
- Jethro Tull - The Rattlesnake Trail
- Jethro Tull - Kissing Willie
- Jethro Tull - Part Of The Machine
- Jethro Tull - Raising Steam
- Jethro Tull - The Waking Edge
- Jethro Tull - Mountain Men
- Jethro Tull - Occasional Demons
- Jethro Tull - Roll Yer Own
Rand Lyrics
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Jethro Tull Thick As A Brick (Part 1) Comments
this band sounds just as good live as they do in the studio.
title pretty much describes my last number two
To me, this is the pinnacle of all popular music that came out the last sixty or so years. For those who prefer the other prog giants (that I love as well), I'll settle with this album being the best work of the seventies.
Hats off to Mr. Barlow. A fine performance sir.
I loved listening to this face up lying in bed with the lights out. Layers of sound.
Jethro Tull's masterpiece!
Spin me back down the years and the days of my youth.
I still can't even comprehend how this was written. Brilliance!
Superlative!
The bass of the minute 5:05 its so fucking great.!
My first rock concert was Jethro Tull, Aqualung tour, at the Virginia Beach Dome.
There but by the wrath of time, and luck go i.. (did i leave out john barley corn?) Theres nothing sweeter than the chimes and soothing growl of an electrified orchestral nature of the chirping bird lead breaks and thunders metronome
Now you people know why we are nostalgic, and some of us want to keep living in the past.
Hahaaa wait my lil millennial morons
i love freddy mercuries bass playing in this
448 people are resting down in Cornwall...!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monument de nos seventies..... JM
I snagged a copy of this album from the year it was printed for 5 bucks at a record store a few years ago.
Best album I ever bought
П О М Н И М ...................................................
Really don't mind if you sit this one out.
Mongrel dog soils actors foot..hehe, priceless
I recall that this Record caused headaches for radio programers! How to smoothly select a sec
Truly a Classic recording!
Just listen to the musicality and pure inventiveness of the songs.... The counterpoints of guitar, flute and keyboards, exquisite bass playing and Barriemore Barlow's incredibly adept drumming...
This remastered recording is superbly engineered, a
yet keeps that early 70's analogue depth and presence.. I bought the vinyl back in 1972, gave it endless repeats, then put it to bed for many years, listening to it again, it still hold strong as one of the best albums of the era...
Featured vocalist : Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson : am i a joke to you?
They won't induct Jethro Tull into the rock hall of fame. But, rappers, well sure. That is insanity. BTW does anyone remember they used the flute part of this in old Hyundai commercials?
I think they were asked to do a concept album and they just
through this one out there . Still have the original album and didn't do the dot to dot on the album cover
"I've come down from the upper class to mend your rotten ways"
Anyone else sense a medieval ambiance to Jethro Tull's music?
The best that they have ever done. Robbie Burns would be damn right proud. Take care and all the best for 2020. Love it.
i've asked this before but what was the "bad word" in the poem?
Rock n Roll HoF isn't about talent so much as 💰
Funny how the line "spin me back down the years and the days of my youth" apply to this 61 year old man looking back now across the decades to the early 70s where I first started listening to this masterpiece as teenager. Remember how the album opened up like a newspaper? Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRRf_l71Zvw
The newspaper story was a complete fabrication, created as the cover art for the Jethro Tull album 'Thick as a Brick', released in 1972.
Clive Bunker was a great drummer, but damn, Barrie Barlow was on another level...
I love how the chic at bottom right of the photo is lifting up her dress!!!
This band has forever cemented its place in time and space as one of the most interesting and creative sound-creators to come from our species. I bet even the aliens rock to this shit.
ian you come from another planet
Un chef d'oeuvre tout simplement. JM
4:26 - 7:29
👏
apparently Not the politically motivated people at the HOF
DEFINITELY ONE OF A KIND AND DESERVING OF THE HOF! Who else do you know composes like Ian and can play 16 distinct instruments (each recorded on at least one song)?
The Tulls and Yesses and ELP's are held up by Ramoneque critics as the antithesis of rock and roll. I seem to recall a shallow couple of decades when artists were culled, corralled, neutered and censored...when songs had to be exactly 2 minutes 50 seconds in a standard simple form, and of course, danceable. And I like that stuff too. And I like the concertesque forms, the exercise of freedom. And I frankly think the Ramones suck, even for the form they promote. But more power to you if you like them. It's all good for someone.
now i know where did Zelda tune come from..
Barry Barlow is a vastly underrated drummer. He was so suptle at changing tempo. It would be maddening for most rock drummers.
✅🇬🇧
Aqualung was the very first LP I bought as a kid. Band on the Run was the second.
Among the great LP packaging concepts, truly. As a CD, it's useless.
TRULY ENLIGHTENED WORDS OF WISDOM FOR THOSE WHO HAVE HEARTS AND MINDS TO HEAR WITH,... AS KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM ARE RARELY THE SAME THING, EVEN THOUGH MANY "EITE" MEDIA MORONS GENUINELY BELIEVE THAT THEIR "SUBSCRIBERS" ARE TOO STUPID TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE AND REQUIRE THAT THEY DO THEIR THINKING FOR THEM, RATHER THAN JUST GIVING THEM THE TRUTH AND FACTS AND ALLOWING THEM TO DRAW THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS. GUESS THAT THAT'S THE TRUE PURPOSE OF "FAKE NEWS FOOLS'.
The keyboard work on this album, really makes it "pop!"
Love the organ part that starts at 12 minutes in. One of the best ever!
Ian rehearsed in East London.
I may make you feel but i cant make you think
DECEMBER 2 2019, WHO LISTENING THICK AS A BRICK. TODAY IS FIRST TIME I'M LISTENING IT. GREAT ALBUM. I SAW THEM IN SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL 🇧🇷🇧🇷❤️❤️👍👍 WAS A WONDERFULL NIGHT AND A UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT.
Aloha from FL. I remember Tull music in 70s. Life was good.
Quant j'entend ça, je me laisserai bien pousser les cheveux jusqu'à la raie du c.. si je n'avais pas l'age de les perdres. Que de bons souvenirs...
Ian Anderson is genius of musical composition and prose! Absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!🌞🌜✨🙏
The time is over due.......Sir Ian Scot Anderson............a Master Musician ......joining Mozart, Beethoven,Schubert,Bach +
probably the most beautiful 20 + minutes of music I've ever heard and to think I've been listening to this since it was released .😸😀
Tull forever. Last and only rock flutest. Been listening to Ian since I was 10 years old. Im 56
check Focus Hocus Pocus on youtube- there's a crazy version...
Looks like the Doobie Bros are getting in. NOW, we need Jethro Tull in there and we can all rest easy..
dumm wie Bohnenstroh - so der Titel auf deutsch dieses ausgezeichneten Konzeptalbums aus dem Jahre 1972
I've listened to Metal Machine Music all the way through, but I've never read this newspaper cover to cover.
Saint CLEVE Chronicle
maybe only Tubular Bells... can't think of that 3rd 1.
man, how many records were there that had only 1 song.... like 3!!!
Born in 1947... I was fortunate to have lived through the 1960's... this is the music of my youth !! That's when "ugly people wrote beautiful music"... whereas now "Beautiful people write ugly music" Our band "the chequers" played support to many of the big names at the time... and what a time it was !! A lifetime of memories !!
Traditional Music Created By Natural Means Will Always Out Last All The Others... Jethro Tull, Is A Modern Day Fusion Of Almost Every Form Of All Know Music That's Its Strength.
I LOVE this music. Burned holes in the vinyl listening so often when I was a kid!
This band is great, they deserve a Grammy or something
Not a bad tune have to say songs from the wood is my fav album.
Amo questa canzone non mi stancherò mai di ascoltarla
Thick as a Brick: Part 1
I. Thick as a Brick [0:00]
II. See There: A Son is Born [3:05]
III. The Poet and the Painter [5:05]
IV. What Do You Do When the Old Man’s Gone? [11:20]
V. You Curl Your Toes in Fun [16:24]
VI. I See You Shuffle in the Courtroom [17:34]
This might Sound corny but this is def a masterpiece. A one Track Album with a strange story on the cover. Musically superb. And the lyrics are worth read more than only accompanied by the band
And nowadays we have songs that are 2 mins long and 5 mins is too long 😥
Actually we are very lucky that today’s songs are only 2 mins long cause they’re all caca!
@Spinman Corner ya listeningnton25 minutes of today's song would probably make us insane!!
He definitely should be in the hall of fame
Oh well thank god he's not in the hall of shame
One of the Best Progressive Song ever , Along with Tarkus from ELP
I can't remember what musician said it, but he criticized Ian for writing short songs, or something like that. Ian said FU I'll write one song for an entire album.
Except Ian wouldn't swear..........he's a Gentleman........but your point is well taken !
Tull and Gentle Giant sprinkled by a bit of King Crimson. I can only imagine the direction Hendrix would of went had he lived
Best sound quality I've heard at a live gig, to date (Birmingham NEC c.'88).
To be thick as a brick absolutely awesome takes me back to when my old man said i was thick as a bick as he one day wanted to have a head butting comp and i said to him thats not a headbutt i turned around and ran full ball into the brick wall and then turned back around to my father and procedured to say NOW THATS A HEADBUTT
Tull is such a unique song sensation,worthy of much praise and respect,this song is one of the best ever!
the first time that i've seen the album cover i thought that the man in front of the cover it was Churchill, oh childhood.
Thought provoking as usual 🙏❤️
Currently having a 'rediscover' of how awesome early and mid 70s Phil Collins was behind a kit. But Barrie Barlow is STILL the man. Adore his snare work.
Hail the Hemiola!
I was 16 when this album came out. I lived in a tiny town in rural Pennsylvania that had no stop lights. Tull opened up my world, along with the rest of the usual suspects of the time period (Cream, The Who, Bowie, etc.) I still listen to this album once or twice a year and it somehow does me some good.
Anderson never missed an opportunity to mock the elite! In this song he manages to take their abuse of power to a new level by exposing the reality of family blood, and its control over those they can never know!
Power is now being returned to the people! For the first time in history, we have a true leader! His name is Donald Trump!
Dark to Light!
Patriots in Control!
Enjoy the show!
😁🍿🇺🇲🙏
Out of control national debt,childish President,He is such a narcissist,the truth about his ability to handle the most simple documents and presentations in his office with staff shows he is a security risk to our nation,and the world.He throws tantrums,lies all the time,and those tax returns he promised? What is he hiding??,and with all his cohorts arrested,and or about to be,really look at what you think is a good thing for America....oh not any single project to rebuild America's infrastructure,love letters from Kim Long Young..really now? And he said he is the chosen one,turns on anyone who says anything against him.... he is not King of America,,, he needs to go ..will be seen as worst President in our history..hateful ,arrogant,and mentally unstable and also said when President he would not have time to play golf oh gee...... check the facts,as in the real news..it is out there .....look and you shall see....also Tariffs...look at the facts....
@Joseph Lafond
Brainwashed moron!
😁🇺🇲
Still the best music of that era.
They put a lot of work into the fake newspaper including writing articles that have absolutely nothing to do with the song.
"Little Milton" must be in his 50s now! 🤣
Jack Burdock aren't we all?
Muy buena portada, solo faltó que la chica sentada de blanco abriera más las piernas, para verle más los calzones.
Really don't mind if you sit this one out
My word's 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
[Refrain]
To be thick as a brick
[Verse 2]
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
[Refrain]
To be thick as a brick
[Verse 3]
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
[Verse 4]
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
[Verse 5]
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 a trade
Teach him to play Monopoly
And how to sing in the rain
[3:36 - 5:00 - Instrumental]
[2. The Poet and the Painter (5:00 - 10:29)]
[5:00 - 6:09 - Instrumental]
[Verse 6]
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
[Refrain 2]
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, oh
[7:21 - 9:21 - Instrumental]
[Verse 7]
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
[Refrain 2]
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
[3. What Do You Do When the Old Man's Gone? / From the Upper Class (10:29 - 15:54)]
[Verse 8]
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
[11:52 - 13:16 - Instrumental]
[Verse 9]
I've come down from the upper class
To mend your rotten ways
My father was a man-of-power
Whom everyone obeyed
[Verse 10]
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
[14:00 - 15:26 - Instrumental]
[Verse 11]
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
[4. You Curl Your Toes in Fun / Childhood Heroes / Stabs Instrumental (15:54 - 22:40)]
[Verse 12]
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?
[Verse 13]
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
[Verse 14]
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
[Verse 15]
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 you take your place in a wiser world
Of bigger motor cars
And you wonder who to call on
[Verse 16]
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
[20:23 - 22:40 - Instrumental]
[PART TWO]
[5. See There a Man Is Born / Clear White Circles (22:40 - 28:38)]
[Verse 17]
See there! A man is 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 a child from him
Put it to the test
Teach it to be a wise man
And how to fool the rest
[24:04 - 26:11 - Instrumental]
[Verse 18: Spoken]
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
It says here that cats are on the upgrade
Upgrade? Hipgrave
Oh, Mac
[Verse 19]
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 queuing 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
[6. Legends and Believe in the Day (28:38 - 35:13)]
[Verse 20]
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
[Verse 21]
The poet and the wise man stand
Behind the gun, behind the gun
And signal for the crack of dawn
Light the sun, light the sun
[Refrain 3]
Do you believe in the day?
Do you believe in the day?
[Verse 22]
The Dawn Creation of the Kings
Has begun, has begun
Soft Venus, lonely maiden brings
The ageless one, the ageless one
[Refrain 3]
Do you believe in the day?
Do you believe in the day?
[Verse 23]
The fading hero has returned
To the night, to the night
And fully pregnant with the day
Wise men endorse the poet's sight
[Refrain 3]
Do you believe in the day?
Do you believe in the day?
[33:37 - 35:13 - Instrumental]
[7. Tales of Your Life (35:13 - 40:37)]
[Verse 24]
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
Well, 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
[Refrain 4]
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
[Verse 25]
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
Well, 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
[Refrain 4]
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
[8. Childhood Heroes Reprise (40:37 - 43:46)]
[Verse 14 Reprise]
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
[Verse 16 Reprise]
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
[Verse 1 Reprise]
So you ride yourselves over the fields
And you make all your animal deals
And your wise men don't know how it feels
[Refrain]
To be thick as a brick
This has aged beautifully... a masterpiece by any standard.
When I was at an early 70s concert with Till headlining,I just could not get over Ian Anderson on stage boogie both with flute and without. The man was great at getting the crowd into the music. Still remember that concert .what a rush
Where are all of the non rabbits?
My youth, I miss it
This Album is dedicated to all Parasite Politicians worldwide > THICK AS A BRICK mainly Wee Krankie > Scottish COMMUNIST Party.
And I finally got a copy of their Christmas Album. It's so Tull. I love it. Classic Christmas songs with that touch of Tull
I found a pristine copy of this on vinyl the other day... still had the newspaper in it! Prog fans always took great care of their vinyl!
Keith Mendez Whoa!! A mighty score indeed!!
Keith.....a rich find indeed........keep it safe......!
Keith Mendez .
Thick as a Brick (Pt. 1) -- Lyrics
Really don't mind if you sit this one out
My word's 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 that 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 blackheads on his shoulders,
And there 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 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
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 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 you 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 you 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 are all the sportsmen who always pulled you through?
They're all resting down in Cornwall, writing up their memoirs
For a paperback edition of the boy scout manual