He wipes clean slates The tearful diplomat who negotiates The end of all beginnings Hapless and humble now He stumbles from a building putting fires out And runs and runs away What's to overthrow When everything you know's corrupted No matter what you do You're never going to make it right You're never going to feel alive 'Til you're defeated and broken You're never going to make it up It's never going to be enough To turn it all round We fall down again
Take heart and lose face It's easier to breathe when the declaration's made And flags are lowered It burns like paper boats He swallows every promise like an antidote 'Til lips are numb with hope And who's to overthrow When power makes us so indifferent No matter what you do How's it going to feel when the doors give way What you going to see when the light can't find you What you going to do when the pennies drop When you look up and it's all behind you