There's a beggar sitting legless
On a pavement in the town
Hoping just to catch your eye
Hoping that you'll look down
And he shifts his tired body
And counts the coppers that he's begged
And wonders will he get home first
Or will he first get mugged
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
There's teargas at the funeral of a boy gunned down by cops
They say that there are too many mourners
And this is where is stops
Then they bring on the boots and the batons
And the blood runs fear and cold
And the moral of the exercise
Is to do what you are told
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
Down in Grahamstown prison
Sat Peter Jones alone
For seventeen months he sat there
And nothing was done
And then they released him
And just as soon they banned him
And cops didn't say a thing
But the waiting, deadly scorpion
Just sharpens up his sting
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
There's war on all the borders
And there's war in every town
And if you take notice
It will only bring you down
And if you turn and look away
There's a bullet in your back
You're either under firm control
Or you're under attack
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
You can say that you belong nowhere
That this is just another place
You can hitch your body to the stars
Or hide behind your face
But the guns are just as physical
As the flesh you lug around
And if you cannot ride those stars
Then you're riding right on the ground
On a pavement in the town
Hoping just to catch your eye
Hoping that you'll look down
And he shifts his tired body
And counts the coppers that he's begged
And wonders will he get home first
Or will he first get mugged
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
There's teargas at the funeral of a boy gunned down by cops
They say that there are too many mourners
And this is where is stops
Then they bring on the boots and the batons
And the blood runs fear and cold
And the moral of the exercise
Is to do what you are told
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
Down in Grahamstown prison
Sat Peter Jones alone
For seventeen months he sat there
And nothing was done
And then they released him
And just as soon they banned him
And cops didn't say a thing
But the waiting, deadly scorpion
Just sharpens up his sting
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
There's war on all the borders
And there's war in every town
And if you take notice
It will only bring you down
And if you turn and look away
There's a bullet in your back
You're either under firm control
Or you're under attack
And you know that it's so damned easy
To turn and look away
And you only need say nothing
To have nothing at all to say
You can say that you belong nowhere
That this is just another place
You can hitch your body to the stars
Or hide behind your face
But the guns are just as physical
As the flesh you lug around
And if you cannot ride those stars
Then you're riding right on the ground
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