From The Cradle To The Grave

Well they took you from your mother's womb and put you in a school

Told you how to run your life by following the rules

Told you not to pick your nose or disrespect the queen

Scrub your teeth three times a day keep mind and body clean

Save up all your pocket money, nothing is for free

And you'd better trust your parents cos there's no one else you see

And then they send you off each day remember what you're told

"You may think you don't need teaching but you'll need it when you're old"

And if you're too intelligent they'll cut you down to size

They'll praise you til you're happy then they'll fill you full of lies

Cos intelligence is threatening and genius is sin

If you could ever see through them they know they'd never win

So they channel your ability into the right direction

If you're good enough and rich enough you can be a politician

On the other hand if your too thick they'll tell you that you're lazy

They'll put you down and wind you up until it drives you crazy

They'll say you ought to learn a trade to help you in your life

Success is written in three parts: A job, a house, a wife

They'll say that school prepares you for the awesome world outside

Well it certainly gives you bigotry and patriotic pride

Racism, sexism teacher to class

From school to work remains the sameare you white and middle class?

You'll learn that bad men dress in black and good men dress in white

And the pamphlets in the playground say that's right

And that girls were made for housework and boys were made to fight

And the naughty pictures on page 3 make everything alright

And so from school to the outside world these morals you will take

And unless you can reject them you'll have your mind at stake

They'll give you a decision when you get to 18, too

The right to vote for someone else who says he cares for you

But the only thing he cares about is getting to the top

By conning you with empty words that promise you a lot

But the end result is slavery to a false set of ideals

You'll be tempted to believe them cos they'll seem so very real

The slavery of attitudes that make you keep in line

Subconsciously devoted to the morals of our time

And when you end up on the dole which you very likely will

They'll offer you a brand new trade: Learning how to kill

Why don't you join the army? Be a man and not a fool

There's someone else to think for you just like there was at school

They'll promise you absolution from the murders you'll commit

In the name of god and country they can get away with it

They fill you full of orders and promise you rewards

Like busting up your family by sending you abroad

A holiday in Germany or Iceland or Hong Kong

Making money being useless well it seems it can't go wrong

But then it's off to Northern Ireland where you'll practice what they preached

You'll shoot to keep yourself alive and kill to keep the peace

And then it won't be so much fun as you hear the wounded crying

Cos before they couldn't speak english and you didn't know what they were saying

But when the children call you "Bastard" it will make you think again

When you cannot tell the difference between animals and men

Animals don't wear uniforms but they kill as much as you

But the army kills for money and animals kill for food

It's the basest degredation in the name of what is right

Become something you never were and regret it til you die

Cos your father will tell you "Sonny, you must do as you are told"

And you'll say the same thing to your kids when you're 32 years old

And unless you can react against the brainwash from the start

Your government will rule your mind and your mind will rule your heart

You'll conform to every social law and be the system's slave

From birth to school to work to death, from the cradle to the grave.....