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