The Second Hand - Peter Hammill

See the old man acting like a fool

Yeah, he’s running from the ambulance

When he was a youngster he broke all the rules —

Now he says that was just accident

Always had the feeling he was going to die young

So now he feels repentant;

But the judge was progressive and the jury was hung

He got a suspended sentence

So he ran from his future, he ran from his past

Yes, he ran from the desert of the hour-glass

But the sea of time is a rising flood

And he’s swamped by the wave

His arms go limp by his side

He only came for the ride

He thought he’d hold back the tide

Canute

One eye on the main chance and one eye on the clock

Oh, when did his brain go?

And when does a veteran get to be a crock…

No gold at the end of this rainbow!

He always boxed clever with his shadowy hopes

But now he’s in trouble with his back on the ropes

And the hands of time are bunched into fists:

Yeah, he’s out for the Count

The sword has sunk in the lake

And now he’s watching dawn break

And now he waits for the stake

Dracul

This boy’s a fool

This fool’s a man

All men are ruled

By the Second Hand