Serious Ground

It‘s just a magic trick— with the flick of a card

And you‘re everyone‘s daddy— and you‘re a media star

And the grand old gentry— you know they‘re so composed

While they take the power— from right under your nose

And you thought that you’d never see the day

When the whole damn thing could be taken away

When the crowd starts waving that serious flag

And the boots start marching there ain’t no turning back

Turning back

And when the whole thing started

You thought it‘s only a joke

You had a couple of laughs, everytime he spoke

‘Cause there’s no reason to worry, no it can’t happen here

‘Cause it’s a third world story, and we got nothing to fear

And the crowd cries out with a glorious sound

And the bonfire burns on the fertile ground

And fireworks light up in the moonbeam sky

And the children watching with their labrador big eyes

You were right about the things you saw

Reflected in the faces of those wild-eyed kids

The crowd surged like a dead thing waking

Crawling from the sludge of a cold black lake

Rising with their clenched teeth, jaws vibrating

And the teeth clack-clack’s such a curious sound

And the teeth clack-clack’s such a curious sound

And the teeth clack-clack’s such a curious sound

And the teeth clack-clack’s such a curious sound

You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound

When they start marching on the serious ground

You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound

When they start marching on the serious ground

Boots start marching on the serious ground

Boots start marching on the serious ground

Boots start marching on the serious ground

Boots start marching on the serious ground

Start marching on the serious ground

Start marching on the serious ground

Start marching on the serious ground

Start marching on the serious ground

It’s just a magic trick, on a two-dollar stage

And when you blink your eyes

You find the world has changed

And the crazy old fuck, that was waving his arms

Is now running the circus, with an army of clowns

Well you know when the boots start hitting the ground

And the crowd starts making that terrible sound

The flag starts waving with the fists in the air

And civilization dies, right there

Dies right there

The crowd cries out— the leader waves his hand

Some tears are shed— but he seems to understand

That in order to— set his people free

(He) must erase the past— because nothing lasts