Subhumans - From The Cradle To The Grave lyrics

Well they took you from your mother's womb
And put you in a school
Told you how to run your
Life by following the rules
Told you not to pick your
Nose or disrespect the queen
Scrub your teeth three times a day
Keep mind and body clean
Save up all your pocket money
Nothing is for free
And you'd better trust your parents cos
There's no one else you see
And then they send you off each
Day remember what you're told
"You may think you don't need teaching but
You'll need it when you're old"

And if you're too intelligent they'll
Cut you down to size
They'll praise you til you're happy then
They'll fill you full of lies


Cos intelligence is threatening and
Genius is sin
If you could ever see through them
They know they'd never win
So they channel your ability
Into the right direction
If you're good enough and rich enough
You can be a politician
On the other hand if you're too thick
They'll tell you that you're lazy
They'll put you down and wind you
Up until it drives you crazy

They'll say you ought to learn a trade
To help you in your life
Success is written in three parts:
A job, a house, a wife
They'll say that school prepares you
For the awesome world outside
Well it certainly gives you
Bigotry and patriotic pride

Racism, sexism teacher to class
From school to work remains the same
Are you white and middle class?

You'll learn that bad men dress in black
And good men dress in white
And the pamphlets in the
Playground say that's right
And that girls were made for housework
And boys were made to fight
And the naughty pictures on page
3 make everything alright

And so from school to the outside
World these morals you will take
And unless you can reject them you'll
Have your mind at stake

They'll give you a decision when
You get to 18, too
The right to vote for someone else
Who says he cares for you
But the only thing he cares about
Is getting to the top
By conning you with empty words
That promise you a lot
But the end result is slavery to
A false set of ideals
You'll be tempted to believe them cos
They'll seem so very real
The slavery of attitudes that make
You keep in line
Subconsciously devoted to the morals
Of our time and when you end up on the
Dole which you very likely will
They'll offer you a brand new
Trade: Learning how to kill

Why don't you join the army? Be
A man and not a fool
There's someone else to think for you
Just like there was at school

They'll promise you absolution from
The murders you'll commit
In the name of god and country
They can get away with it
They fill you full of orders
And promise you rewards
Like busting up your family
By sending you abroad
A holiday in Germany or Iceland or Hong Kong
Making money being useless well it
Seems it can't go wrong
But then it's off to Northern Ireland
Where you'll practice what they preached
You'll shoot to keep yourself alive and
Kill to keep the peace
And then it won't be so much fun
As you hear the wounded crying
Cos before they couldn't speak
English and you
Didn't know what they were saying
But when the children call you "Bastard"
It will make you think again
When you cannot tell the difference
Between animals and men

Animals don't wear uniforms but they
Kill as much as you
But the army kills for money
And animals kill for food
It's the basest degredation in the
Name of what is right
Become something you never were and
Regret it til you die

Cos your father will tell you "Sonny
You must do as you are told"
And you'll say the same thing to your
Kids when you're 32 years old
And unless you can react against
The brainwash from the start
Your government will rule your mind and
Your mind will rule your heart
You'll conform to every social law
And be the system's slave
From birth to school to work to death
From the cradle to the grave