[00:10.14]Really don't mind if you sit this one out.
[00:16.97]My words but a whisper your deafness a SHOUT.
[00:24.37]I may make you feel but I can't make you think.
[00:31.78]Your sperm's in the gutter your love's in the sink.
[00:39.14]So you ride yourselves over the fields and
[00:43.57]you make all your animal deals and
[00:48.05]your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick.
[01:05.49]And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away
[01:12.81]in the tidal destruction the moral melee.
[01:20.43]The elastic retreat rings the close of play
[01:27.89]as the last wave uncovers the newfangled way.
[01:35.35]But your new shoes are worn at the heels
[01:39.72]and your suntan does rapidly peel
[01:44.04]and your wise men don't know how it feels
[01:51.54]to be thick as a brick.
[02:02.45]And the love that I feel is so far away:
[02:11.09]I'm a bad dream that I just had today
[02:20.18]and you shake your head and say it's a shame.
[02:32.90]Spin me back down the years and the days of my youth.
[02:41.57]Draw the lace and black curtains and shut out the whole truth.
[02:49.63]Spin me down the long ages: let them sing the song.
[03:09.56]See there! A son is born and we pronounce him fit to fight.
[03:16.40]There are black-heads on his shoulders, and he pees himself in the night.
[03:25.48]We'll make a man of him, put him to trade
[03:31.47]teach him to play Monopoly and how to sing in the rain.
[06:10.05]The Poet and the Painter casting shadows on the water
[06:15.25]as the sun plays on the infantry returning from the sea.
[06:21.25]The do-er and the thinker: no allowance for the other
[06:26.58]as the failing light illuminates the mercenary's creed.
[06:32.36]The home fire burning: the kettle almost boiling
[06:37.87]but the master of the house is far away.
[06:43.64]The horses stamping, their warm breath clouding
[06:49.07]in the sharp and frosty morning of the day.
[06:54.65]And the poet lifts his pen while the soldier sheaths his sword.
[07:01.38]And the youngest of the family is moving with authority.
[07:09.92]Building castles by the sea, he dares the tardy tide to wash them all aside.
[09:22.11]The cattle quietly grazing at the grass down by the river
[09:27.52]where the swelling mountain water moves onward to the sea:
[09:33.40]the builder of the castles renews the age-old purpose
[09:38.99]and contemplates the milking girl whose offer is his need.
[09:44.58]The young men of the household have all gone into service
[09:50.00]and are not to be expected for a year.
[09:55.64]The innocent young master - thoughts moving ever faster -
[10:01.10]has formed the plan to change the man he seems.
[10:06.55]And the poet sheaths his pen while the soldier lifts his sword.
[10:13.59]And the oldest of the family is moving with authority.
[10:18.82]Coming from across the sea, he challenges the son who puts him to the run.
[11:22.06]What do you do when the old man's gone - do you want to be him?
[11:29.97]And your real self sings the song. Do you want to free him?
[11:38.88]No one to help you get up steam
[11:46.57]and the whirlpool turns you `way off-beam.
[13:17.79]I've come down from the upper class to mend your rotten ways.
[13:24.72]My father was a man-of-power whom everyone obeyed.
[13:46.21]So come on all you criminals! I've got to put you straight
[13:53.29]just like I did with my old man twenty years too late.
[15:27.47]Your bread and water's going cold.
[15:30.73]Your hair is too short and neat.
[15:34.62]I'll judge you all and make damn sure that no-one judges me.
[16:36.56]You curl your toes in fun as you smile at everyone,
[16:40.00]you meet the stares, you're unaware that your doings aren't done.
[16:43.90]And you laugh most ruthlessly as you tell us what not to be.
[16:48.35]But how are we supposed to see where we should run?
[17:42.05]I see you shuffle in the courtroom with
[17:44.83]your rings upon your fingers
[17:47.31]and your downy little sidies
[17:49.29]and your silver-buckle shoes.
[17:55.73]Playing at the hard case,
[17:58.15]you follow the example of the comic-paper idol
[18:03.27]who lets you bend the rules.
[18:40.07]Come on ye childhood heroes!
[18:42.45]Won't you rise up from the pages of your comic-books
[18:46.40]your super crooks
[18:47.96]and show us all the way.
[18:52.88]Well! Make your will and testament.
[18:55.36]Won't you? Join your local government.
[18:58.15]We'll have Superman for president
[19:00.67]let Robin save the day.
[19:06.44]You put your bet on number one and it comes up every time.
[19:11.46]The other kids have all backed down and they put you first in line.
[19:16.74]And so you finally ask yourself just how big you are
[19:21.65]and take your place in a wiser world of bigger motor cars.
[19:27.00]And you wonder who to call on.
[20:00.23]So! Where the hell was Biggles when you needed him last Saturday?
[20:05.39]And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
[20:12.83]They're all resting down in Cornwall
[20:15.66]writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
[20:20.66]of the Boy Scout Manual.