Lyrics The Wave - Van Der Graaf Generator

The Wave

To the academic man, this could be the answer…
In fact, it’s no more than a hunch
Still we try to eat it —
I think we’re all pretty out to lunch
The wave is out of reach
Trailing words from the hand
Only air can understand
Semaphore on the shoreline
Waiting for distance to recede, unhappily imperfect
When we should be happy just to breathe
But with each bated breath
So present, tense
We want to know
We want it sure
It don’t make sense!
So I’ll do mine and you do yours
But let’s not trade sand and sea
For brick and cement
The wave hits the beach, laps around abandoned clothes
Wants to share a joke with those who’ll brave the breakers
Who’ll break bread rather than pray
While the definition-maker's
Lost in the small print of the day
The words are only pictures
That the next wave wipes away