Lyrics Wilhelmina - Peter Hammill

Wilhelmina

Willie, what can I say to you
To hold true in your changing life?
You’ve come into a cruel world;
Little girls can lose their way in the growing night…
I hope you’ll be alright
Willie, try to stay a child sometime
For as long as you feel you can learn
Babies all turn to people
And people can really be strange;
They change and, changing, bring pain
Try to treat your parents well because they care
And what more can you do?
When you find your lovers, be good to them
As you hope they’ll be to you —
Be honest
Be true
Willie, you are the future;
All our lives, in the end are in your hands
Life’s hard now;
you know it gets harder
And hope is but a single strand:
We pass it on and hope you’ll understand…
We know that we do it wrong
We’re not so strong and not so sure at all;
Groping in our blindness
We may seem big now but, really, we’re so
Small and alone and searching for a home
In the night
Meanwhile you’re still a baby;
You’ll be a lady soon enough
And then you will feel the burn
So hold my words: people all turn to children
Spiteful children, and they’re really so cruel
Cruel fools!
Just follow your own rules…
Don’t think that I’m silly, Willie
If I say I hope that there is hope for you