Lights Go Out

I went to my mother, said - please make me king
 I went to my mother, said - I've got to be king
 She said son - well you've got to wait your turn
 Patience is a virtue that you never seemed to learn
 You were born with nothing, to nothing you'll return
 Ch: Now, now the lights go out - there's no warning
 Now, now the lights go out - there's no reason
 Now, now the voices cry - we don't need you now
 I went to my father, said - please make me king
 Went to my father, said - I've got to be king
 He said son - you've got to do your time
 I've done fifty-three years and I haven't yet done mine
 You're just one of the millions waiting in line
 Ch: Now, now the lights go out - there's no warning
 Now, now the lights go out - there's no reason
 Now, now the voices cry - we don't need you now
 History gave us meaning, gave us a place
 Gave my father reasons for the lines on his face
 But we asked for the money and money they gave
 And God, how that made us easy to enslave
 So today at the office, we picked up the cheque
 The handshake of gold, the stab in the back
 The old men went home silent and bowed
 The young men went drinking, drowning it out
 So in every street, in every town, comes some young pretender
 Just gunning for a crown - take it- take it all
 Ch: But now, now the lights go out . . .