From the Cradle to the Grave

歌詞

they took you from you 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 your mind and body clean save all your pocket money nothing is for free and you'd better trust your parents cos there's no one else you see and when they send you off each day remember what your told "you may think you don't need teaching but you'll need it when your old" and if your 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 in 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 you're too think they'll tell you that your 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 a patriotic pride racism sexism teacher to class from school to work remain the same are 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 the girls were made for housework boys were made to fight and naughty pictures on page 3 make everything alright 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 theres someone else to think for you just like there was at school they'll promise you absolution from the murders you'll commmit 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 its off to northern ireland where you'll practice what they preached you'll shoot to keep yourself alive and you'll kill to keep the peace and then it wont be so much fun as you hear the wounded crying before, they couldnt speak english, and you didnt 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 its the basest degradation in the name of what is right become something you never were and regret it till you die cause your father will tell you "sonny you must do as you are told" and you'll say the same thing to your kids when your 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