It‘s just a magic trick— with the flick of a card
And you‘re everyone‘s daddy— and you‘re a media star
And the grand old gentry— you know they‘re so composed
While they take the power— from right under your nose

And you thought that you'd never see the day
When the whole damn thing could be taken away
When the crowd starts waving that serious flag
And the boots start marching there ain't no turning back
Turning back

And when the whole thing started
You thought it‘s only a joke
You had a couple of laughs, everytime he spoke
‘Cause there's no reason to worry, no it can't happen here
‘Cause it's a third world story, and we got nothing to fear

And the crowd cries out with a glorious sound
And the bonfire burns on the fertile ground
And fireworks light up in the moonbeam sky
And the children watching with their labrador big eyes

You were right about the things you saw
Reflected in the faces of those wild-eyed kids
The crowd surged like a dead thing waking
Crawling from the sludge of a cold black lake
Rising with their clenched teeth, jaws vibrating
And the teeth clack-clack's such a curious sound (X4)

You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
When they start marching on the serious ground
You can hear the voices, you can hear the sound
When they start marching on the serious ground

Boots start marching on the serious ground (X4)
Start marching on the serious ground (X4)

It's just a magic trick, on a two-dollar stage
And when you blink your eyes
You find the world has changed
And the crazy old fuck, that was waving his arms
Is now running the circus, with an army of clowns

Well you know when the boots start hitting the ground
And the crowd starts making that terrible sound
The flag starts waving with the fists in the air
And civilization dies, right there

Dies right there

The crowd cries out— the leader waves his hand
Some tears are shed— but he seems to understand
That in order to— set his people free
(He) must erase the past— because nothing lasts