Lyrics The Second Hand - Peter Hammill

The Second Hand

See the old man acting like a fool
Yeah, he’s running from the ambulance
When he was a youngster he broke all the rules —
Now he says that was just accident
Always had the feeling he was going to die young
So now he feels repentant;
But the judge was progressive and the jury was hung
He got a suspended sentence
So he ran from his future, he ran from his past
Yes, he ran from the desert of the hour-glass
But the sea of time is a rising flood
And he’s swamped by the wave
His arms go limp by his side
He only came for the ride
He thought he’d hold back the tide
Canute
One eye on the main chance and one eye on the clock
Oh, when did his brain go?
And when does a veteran get to be a crock…
No gold at the end of this rainbow!
He always boxed clever with his shadowy hopes
But now he’s in trouble with his back on the ropes
And the hands of time are bunched into fists:
Yeah, he’s out for the Count
The sword has sunk in the lake
And now he’s watching dawn break
And now he waits for the stake
Dracul
This boy’s a fool
This fool’s a man
All men are ruled
By the Second Hand