Stark turrets of decadence
Pierce the hearts and minds of men
Shining with such grand futility.
They coalesce in crowded rooms
Where smoke and stagnance dim the air
And fill the halls with dark conspiracy.
While derelicts tweak bleeding hearts
To spare a poor man a bit of change,
That they may fill their guts with cheap liquor.
And as an angry, impoverished youth
Wreaks his vengeance on the world,
The gutters shall run red with genteel blood.
Oh glory Earth; oh glory, man!
Hallowed be thy name.
Oh wondrous king of earth and sea,
An animal the same.
You turn to me as if to ask
"Wherefore should I live on
When all I see ahead is misery?"
I say to you, "I know not, friend."
We live our lives with desperate hope
That better days we all will one day see.
As rotting nations breed blackened souls
With sterile, ruthless apathy
Who lead their lives for "I, myself, and me."
From mommy's breast comes bitter gall,
The dreams of childhood elegance
Revealed a cruel hoax for all to see.
Oh glory Earth; oh glory, man!
Hallowed be thy name.
Oh wondrous king of earth and sea,
An animal the same.
The preacher robs the poor man blind
With promises of afterlife
While wenching in a house of pleasures sold.
He tells us what is right and wrong,
What books are safe to read,
And bids us all to fit into the mold.
Yes, tell them all what they want to hear,
We're still the best in this changing world,
Does it matter if they can't even write their names?
While mechanistic men of might
Preying on our ignorance
Mount their horse to play their power games.
Oh glory Earth; oh glory, man!
Hallowed be thy name.
Oh wondrous king of earth and sea,
An animal the same.Oh glory Earth; oh glory, man!
Bloodied be thy name.
Oh wretched slave of pomp and wealth,
You shall go down in shame.
George Chadderdon © 1991