Well the story begins on the Isle of Dogs In a time of world recession There's a queue a mile long for every job Young hopes deep in depression Well our anti-hero's coy, such a weak-willed boy He follows his nose, not his head So the lap-dog finds a mate, and makes his first mistake She winds up in a hospital bed Now the baby's doing fine, but daddy hasn't got the time He'll drink himself oblivious Then return and hit the wife, she'll attack him with a knife Oh the script is so damned obvious Under the flag Survival leads men to do foolish things And yes he was a fool He thought he'd try working for the government A civil service tool Now the boy is doing fine, but he'll have to toe the line His orders are from high above 'Cos when you're working for the state you can sell your life to fate You're not working anymore for love Under the flag