Peter Gabriel
Six by six from wall to wall
Shutters on the windows, no light at all
Damp on the floor, damp in your bed
They’re trying to drive you crazy get you out of your head
They feed you scraps they feed you lies
To lower your defences, no compromise
There’s nothing you can do, your days are long
Your mind is working overtime your body’s not that strong
Hold on, Hold on
They take you out the light burns your eyes
In the talking room there’s no surprise
Twisted questions clean white coats
Their eyes are as hidden as their Hippocratic oaths
They tell you to behave, behave as their guest
You try to resist them you do your best
They take you to the limit they take you beyond
No matter what they say to you there’s no way to respond
Hold on, Hold on, Hold on, Hold on
They put you in a box so you can’t be heard
May your spirit be unbroken may you not be deterred, Hold On.
You have gambled with your own night, you spend the night alone
While the builders of the cages sleep with bullets bars and stones
They can’t see the road to freedom you have built with flesh and bone
Though you may disappear
You’re not forgotten here
I will say to you
We will do what we can do
Across the years I have enjoyed singing songs from across the water. Heading to play Glastonbury in 2015 I sought to sing a local song. We worked hard to get “Wallflower” ready for the great event, but when the night arrived I flunked the challenge and reached for some hoary chestnut. Now I feel ready to sing this powerful song from Peter Gabriel.