[Verse 1]
It's just a magic trick
With the flick of a card
And you're everyone's daddy
And you're a media star
And the grand old gentry
You know they're so composed
While they take the power
From right under your nose

[Chorus]
And you thought that you'd never see the day
When the whole damn thing could be taken away
When the crowd starts waving that serious flag
And the boots start marching, there ain't no turning back
Turning back

[Verse 2]
And when the whole thing started
You thought, "It's only a joke"
You had a couple of laughs
Every time he spoke
'Cause there's no reason to worry
No, it can't happen here
'Cause it's a Third World story
And we got nothing to fear
[Chorus]
And the crowd cries out with a glorious sound
And the bonfire burns on the fertile ground
And fireworks light up in the moonbeam sky
And the children watching with their Labrador big eyes

[Bridge]
You were right about the things you saw
Reflected in the faces of those wild-eyed kids
The crowd surged like a dead thing waking
Crawling from the sludge of a cold, black lake
Rising with their clenched teeth, jaws vibrating
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound

You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
When they start marching on the serious ground
You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
When they start marching on the serious ground

Boots start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Boots start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground
Start marching on the serious ground

[Verse 3]
It's just a magic trick
On a two-dollar stage
And when you blink your eyes
You find the world has changed
And the crazy old fuck
That was waving his arms
Is now running the circus
With an army of clowns

[Chorus]
Well, you know when the boots start hitting the ground
And the crowd starts making that terrible sound
The flag starts waving with the fists in the air
And civilization dies right there

Dies right there

[Outro]
The crowd cries out, the leader waves his hand
Some tears are shed, but he seems to understand
That in order to set his people free
(He) must erase the past, because nothing lasts