John Wesley Harding
Humankind
[Intro]
This is a protest song
And everybody in this room—
Now I want you to pretend now
In this song, everybody in this room is in the film
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
And we are all Jack Nicholson
And Margaret Thatcher's the nurse there
And so it's called "Humankind"

[Verse 1]
I've read that it's official
That our love has solidified in ritual
And all our sweet nothings melted into vitriol
We eat it up, we chew it round, we spit it out
But I doubt that we've got a lot to shout about
The time has come, the bell has rung and now it's seconds out

[Chorus]
I'm just a man but I try to be human
I'm just a man but I try to be human
Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum
All this silence, well it will only lead to violence
Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum
Watch out
[Verse 2]
I've seen the big oaks falling
And I've heard the dying voice of England calling
No vote is worth a damn, we're stuck here in our heartland stalling
Her nerve is twice as cold as the icebox in my fridge
I'd write you letters but she took away my privilege
I'll be there at the auction just to see how high she'll bid

[Chorus]
I'm just a man but I try to be human
I'm just a man but I try to be human
Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum
All this silence, well it might only lead to violence
Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum
Watch out

[Verse 3]
They clipped my ticket but they took away the cinema
Well, now they just show film
With things the way they think they are
Some things may be black and white
But not when there's a color bar
You tell me not to throw, it's only someone's policy
I think you oughta know I'm sick of ideology, yeah
I'm gonna hide right now, will you clear up this mess for me?
[Chorus]
I'm just a man but I try to be human
I'm just a man but I try to be human
Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum
All this silence, well it could only lead to violence
Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum
Watch out

[Outro]
They're taking my humanity
And they're trying to squeeze it out of me
They're taking my humanity
And they're trying to squeeze it out of me
I'm just a man but I try to be a humane man

Thanks