There are many different ways a man can be killed
You can make him bear a cross up a hill
But for this you need a sandal-wearing crowd, a cock that crows
And someone to hammer in the nails, in the nails
And don't forget some thorns to make a crown
You can shape a piece of steel and teach him how it feels
To have it pierce the metal cage he wears
But for this you need white horses, bows and arrows and a cause
A prince and pride, two noble flags at war, flags at war
And a castle to hold your banquet in
Or dispensing with nobility, and if the wind allows
You may blow gas at him across a mile of mud
For this you'll need some trenches, plagues of rats, miles of wire
Black boots, a dozen songs, bomb craters and shell-fire
Then some more mud, and some round hats made of steel
In an age of aeroplanes, you can kill him without pity
Press a button and destroy him and his city
For this you'll need some factories, ambition and defiance
Two governments, a psychopath and all the latest science
And a land that no one needs for many years
There are many different ways to put a man to death
But all you need is a simple when and where
Just ensure he's born today somewhere on this earth
Do nothing else, my friends, just leave him there, leave him there
He'll do the rest himself, leave him there
You can make him bear a cross up a hill
But for this you need a sandal-wearing crowd, a cock that crows
And someone to hammer in the nails, in the nails
And don't forget some thorns to make a crown
You can shape a piece of steel and teach him how it feels
To have it pierce the metal cage he wears
But for this you need white horses, bows and arrows and a cause
A prince and pride, two noble flags at war, flags at war
And a castle to hold your banquet in
Or dispensing with nobility, and if the wind allows
You may blow gas at him across a mile of mud
For this you'll need some trenches, plagues of rats, miles of wire
Black boots, a dozen songs, bomb craters and shell-fire
Then some more mud, and some round hats made of steel
In an age of aeroplanes, you can kill him without pity
Press a button and destroy him and his city
For this you'll need some factories, ambition and defiance
Two governments, a psychopath and all the latest science
And a land that no one needs for many years
There are many different ways to put a man to death
But all you need is a simple when and where
Just ensure he's born today somewhere on this earth
Do nothing else, my friends, just leave him there, leave him there
He'll do the rest himself, leave him there
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