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 the child from him, put it to the test

Teach it to be a wise man, how to fool the rest



(We will be gearing toward the average rather than the exceptional)

(God's 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 ?)



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 discolored

In neat little rows, sporting canvas frills



With their jock-straps pinching, they slouch to attention

Whilst queueing for sarnies at the office canteen

Singing, "How's your grannie ?", 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 ?



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 ?



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 to pick up your dead

As the sins of the fathers 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 the suit of armour

Of the wiser man who rushes clear ?



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



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



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