Thick As A Brick lyrics

Artist  : Jethro Tull 
Song : Thick As A Brick
 
Really don’t mind if you sit this one out.
My words but a whisper -- your deafness a shout.
I may make you feel but I can’t make you think.
Your sperm’s in the gutter -- your love’s in the
sink.
So you ride yourselves over the fields and
You make all your animal deals and
Your wise men don’t know how it feels to be thick
as a brick.
And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away
in
The tidal destruction
The moral melee.
The elastic retreat rings the close of play as
the last wave uncovers
The newfangled way.
But your new shoes are worn at the heels and
Your suntan does rapidly peel and
Your wise men don’t know how it feels to be thick
as a brick.

And the love that I feel is so far away:
I’m a bad dream that I just had today -- and you
Shake your head and
Say it’s a shame.

Spin me back down the years and the days of my
youth.
Draw the lace and black curtains and shut out the
whole truth.
Spin me down the long ages: let them sing the
song.

See there!	a son is born -- and we pronounce him
fit to fight.
There are black-heads on his shoulders, and he
pees himself in the night.
We’ll
Make a man of him
Put him to trade
Teach him
To play monopoly and
To sing in the rain.

The poet and the painter casting shadows on the
water --
As the sun plays on the infantry returning from
the sea.
The do-er and the thinker: no allowance for the
other --
As the failing light illuminates the mercenary’s
creed.
The home fire burning: the kettle almost boiling
--
But the master of the house is far away.
The horses stamping -- their warm breath
clouding
In the sharp and frosty morning of the day.
And the poet lifts his pen while the soldier
sheaths his sword.

And the youngest of the family is moving with
authority.
Building castles by the sea, he dares the tardy
tide to wash them all aside.

The cattle quietly grazing at the grass down by
the river
Where the swelling mountain water moves onward to
the sea:
The builder of the castles renews the age-old
purpose
And contemplates the milking girl whose offer is
his need.
The young men of the household have
All gone into service and
Are not to be expected for a year.
The innocent young master -- thoughts moving ever
faster --
Has formed the plan to change the man he seems.
And the poet sheaths his pen while the soldier
lifts his sword.

And the oldest of the family is moving with
authority.
Coming from across the sea, he challenges the son
who puts him to the run.

What do you do when
The old man’s gone -- do you want to be him? 
and
Your real self sings the song.
Do you want to free him? 
No one to help you get up steam --
And the whirlpool turns you `way off-beam.

Later.
I’ve come down from the upper class to mend your
rotten ways.
My father was a man-of-power whom everyone
obeyed.
So come on all you criminals!
I’ve got to put you straight just like I did with
my old man --
Twenty years too late.
Your bread and water’s going cold.
Your hair is too short and neat.
I’ll judge you all and make damn sure that no-one
judges me.

You curl your toes in fun as you smile at
everyone -- you meet the stares.
You’re unaware that your doings aren’t done.
And you laugh most ruthlessly as you tell us what
not to be.
But how are we supposed to see where we should
run? 
I see you shuffle in the courtroom with
Your rings upon your fingers and
Your downy little sidies and
Your silver-buckle shoes.
Playing at the hard case, you follow the example
of the comic-paper idol
Who lets you bend the rules.

So!
Come on ye childhood heroes!
Won’t you rise up from the pages of your
comic-books
Your super crooks
And show us all the way.
Well! make your will and testament. won’t you? 
Join your local government.
We’ll have superman for president
Let robin save the day.

You put your bet on number one and it comes up
every time.
The other kids have all backed down and they put
you first in line.
And so you finally ask yourself just how big you
are --
And take your place in a wiser world of bigger
motor cars.
And you wonder who to call on.

So! where the hell was biggles when you needed
him last saturday? 
And where were all the sportsmen who always
pulled you though? 
They’re all resting down in cornwall --
Writing up their memoirs for a paper-back
edition
Of the boy scout manual.

Later.
See there! a man born -- and we pronounce him fit
for peace.
There’s a load lifted from his shoulders with the
discovery of his disease.
We’ll
Take the child from him
Put it to the test
Teach it
To be a wise man
How to fool the rest.

Quote
We will be geared to the average rather than the
exceptional
God is an overwhelming responsibility
We walked through the maternity ward and saw 218
babies wearing nylons
Cats are on the upgrade
Upgrade?  hipgrave. oh, mac.

Later
In the clear white circles of morning wonder,
I take my place with the lord of the hills.
And the blue-eyed soldiers stand slightly
discoloured (in neat little rows)
Sporting canvas frills.
With their jock-straps pinching, they slouch to
attention,
While queueing for sarnies at the office
canteen.
Saying -- how’s your granny and
Good old ernie: he coughed up a tenner on a
premium bond win.
The legends (worded in the ancient tribal hymn)
lie cradled
In the seagull’s call.
And all the promises they made are ground beneath
the sadist’s fall.
The poet and the wise man stand behind the gun,
And signal for the crack of dawn.
Light the sun.

Do you believe in the day?  do you? 
Believe in the day! the dawn creation of the
kings has begun.
Soft venus (lonely maiden) brings the ageless
one.
Do you believe in the day? 
The fading hero has returned to the night -- and
fully pregnant with the day,
Wise men endorse the poet’s sight.
Do you believe in the day?  do you?  believe in
the day!

Let me tell you the tales of your life of
Your love and the cut of the knife
The tireless oppression
The wisdom instilled
The desire to kill or be killed.
Let me sing of the losers who lie in the street
as the last bus goes by.
The pavements ar empty: the gutters run red --
while the fool
Toasts his God in the sky.

So come all ye young men who are building
castles!
Kindly state the time of the year and join your
voices in a hellish chorus.
Mark the precise nature of your fear.
Let me help you pick up your dead as the sins of
the father are fed
With
The blood of the fools and
The thoughts of the wise and
From the pan under your bed.
Let me make you a present of song as
The wise man breaks wind and is gone while
The fool with the hour-glass is cooking his goose
and
The nursery rhyme winds along.

So! come all ye young men who are building
castles!
Kindly state the time of the year and join your
voices in a hellish chorus.
Mark the precise nature of your fear.
See! the summer lightning casts it’s bolts upon
you
And the hour of judgement draweth near.
Would you be
The fool stood in his suit of armour or
The wiser man who rushes clear.
So! come on ye childhood heroes!
Won’t your rise up from the pages of your
comic-books
Your super-crooks and
Show us all the way.
Well! make your will and testament.
Won’t you?  join your local government.
We’ll have superman for president
Let robin save the day.
So! where the hell was biggles when you needed
him last saturday? 
And where were all the sportsmen who always
pulled you through? 
They’re all resting down in cornwall -- writing
up their memoirs
For a paper-back edition of the boy scout
manual.

Of course
So you ride yourselves over the fields and
You make all your animal deals and
Your wise men don’t know how it feels to be thick
as a brick.