Peter Hammill
Four Pails
[Intro]
Four pails of water and a bag full of salts

[Verse 1]
That is all we are, that is all a man comprises
Chemicals alone, with no spirit, soul or ghost –
Nothing so bizarre
No amount of faith disguises
What is true is what we fear the most

[Verse 2]
Nothing can survive save the things men leave behind them
Any other case would be really too absurd –
If thoughts remained alive
Surely modern science would find them?
No, the soul is nothing but a word

[Bridge]
All the wonders Man achieves emerge from cerebral tissue (Cerebral tissue)
Chemical reactions' ebb and surge form that Thing that is you...
It's a sad philosophy, but better sad than wrong
Face the truth instead:
When you're dead you're dead
When you're gone you're gone... (When you're gone you're gone)
(When you're gone you're gone)
(When you're gone you're gone)
Now she's gone
[Interlude]
Four pails of water and a bag full of salts

[Verse 3]
That is all she was, all my lover represented –
That sounds just as mad as saying she will never die
Fools may clutch at straws
But truth must not be circumvented:
As the tree falls, so must that tree lie!

[Verse 4]
Now that sounds so odd...
Once I would have preached it brightly
Now questions appear I rationally can't ignore...
Nothingness or God
Which of them seems more unlikely?

[Outro]
Once I would have answered clearly
Now I only think I'm nearly sure
So nearly sure
Oh, no, no, no
(Once I would have answered clearly)
(Now I only think I'm nearly sure)