[Verse 1]
There's a man walking 'round the island with a snake cane
Picked it up in Thailand from a hurricane
And you know he's not gonna go there
He's been one time too long
Now all the gods are gone
[Verse 2]
And the Diner Club is drowning in a shallow sea
The night belongs to snipers in palm trees
And their sabres flashed like lightning
In the charge of the last brigade
They must have been afraid
[Chorus]
Soldiers have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged
It's the dawn of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age
[Verse 3]
And the blood's running down the blackboard on a blind screen
Convicts shake their cages of a bad dream
And they'll coach you in the classroom that it cannot happen here
But it has happened here
[Verse 4]
I remember nothing that I memorized
I got my education from a black eye
And they'll teach you law and order
If you dare to play your hand
Spare the club and spoil the man
[Chorus]
Soldiers have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged
It's the dawn of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age
[Verse 5]
Thomas Paine and Jesse James are old friends
And Robin Hood is riding on the road again
We were born in a revolution and we died in a wasted war
It's gone that way before
[Verse 6]
The dogs are chasing chicken bones across the lawn
If that was an election, I'm a Viet Cong
So I pledge allegiance against the flag
And the fall for which it stands
I'll raise it if I can
[Chorus]
Soldiers have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged
It's the dawn of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Of another age
Other Phil Ochs songs:
all Phil Ochs songs all songs from 1969