Intact & Smiling Lyrics - John Howard & The Night Mail - John Howard

I ran around in circles, like a hamster in a wheel. 

Enchanted by your magic, the ground beneath your heel. 

But somewhere deep inside me, I'd knew you'd never steal, the knowledge that survived me. 

And things you put me through. 

the don'ts, the won'ts, the no-gos when you tell me what to do. 

You mold me in your image, but you haven't got a clue. 

But you cannot stop me dreaming of fresh fields and pastures new. 

So I'm stepping out of your picture - into the fresh air I've saved. 

Walking tall - intact and smiling - an independent soul, nobody's slave. 

Caught up in your imaginations, like a cog inside a wheel. 

Tangled up in bitterness, a spider's web of steel. 

The only time you're smiling is when you try to make me kneel. 

Your dominanting tendency is losing its appeal. 

So I'm leaving you in the shadow, with all the love that I gave. 

Walking tall - intact and smiling - an independent soul, nobody's slave.