Selling England By The Pound

Hind sight as they say is 20/20 vision, which is why most ‘predictions’ only become clear after the event or are proved totally wrong. Yet some are so spot on we wonder why we didn’t realise at the time, it is as if the author had a window to the future and was warning of what was to come, we just didn’t listen. 1984 was one, parts of Atlas Shrugged another.

So there I was last night putting together a Prog Rock playlist for the iPod when I really started to listen to the lyrics of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight by Genesis.

It is so prescient it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, did Peter Gabriel have one of those windows into the future. Just exchange McDonalds for Wimpey and Club Card Points for Green Shield Stamps. He even got the bit about Credit Cards and worthless gold right. Spooky

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight by Genesis.

"Can you tell me where my country lies?"
said the unifaun to his true love's eyes.
"It lies with me!" cried the Queen of Maybe
- for her merchandise, he traded in his prize.

"Paper late!" cried a voice in the crowd.
"Old man dies!" The note he left was signed 'Old Father Thames'
- it seems he's drowned;
selling England by the pound.

Citizens of Hope & Glory,
Time goes by - it's "the time of your life".
Easy now, sit you down.
Chewing through your Wimpey dreams,
they eat without a sound;
digesting England by the pound.

Young man says "you are what you eat" - eat well.
Old man says "you are what you wear" - wear well.
You know what you are, you don't give a damn;
bursting your belt that is your homemade sham.

The Captain leads his dance right on through the night
- join the dance...
Follow on! Till the Grail sun sets in the mould.
Follow on! Till the gold is cold.
Dancing out with the moonlit knight,
Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.

There's a fat old lady outside the saloon;
laying out the credit cards she plays Fortune.
The deck is uneven right from the start;
and all of their hands are playing apart.

The Captain leads his dance right on through the night
- join the dance...
Follow on! A Round Table-talking down we go.
You're the show!
Off we go with - You play the hobbyhorse,
I'll play the fool.
We'll tease the bull
ringing round & loud, loud & round.

Follow on! With a twist of the world we go.
Follow on! Till the gold is cold.
Dancing out with the moonlit knight,
Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout.

 

Caveat: Only listen to the video if you really like Prog Rock