Lyrics The Old School Tie - Peter Hammill

The Old School Tie

Oh the bright young man in the tight-buttoned suit
The light beams out from capped smiles to the shines
On their lick-spittle books
Oh these sharp young sparks with their fresh rosettes
Yeh, the artful ways that they promise the earth
To all suffragettes —
What they won’t promise we don’t know yet.
They say they’re build — and shaping society
But we know they’re just saving for their own
Safe home in politics
Anything goes: look at them run.
Come from every side, noses Pinocchio clean;
Lock in synchromesh, oil the wheels and the gears
Of the party machine.
And the final goal is a cabinet seat…
In the trappings of power, the presumption to speak
For the man in the street.
Once they move in, they’re in for good;
Yeh, once they get that bed made it’s a Safe home in politics.
Jobs for the boys: look at them run.
There’s just one thing none of us should forget:
A political man is just in it for the power
And the smell of sucess.
Sure, some start out as idealists —
Pretty soon they all cop for ideal careers and
A safe home in politics,
A cusky job in politics;
Look at them run.
The politicians fight it out on the couning tower
But they all agree not to rock the boat.
A safe home in politics
It’s built on your vote