From The Cradle To The Grave Lyrics - Subhumans

Well they took you from your mother's womb and put you in a school 

Told you how to run your life by following the rules 

Told you not to pick your nose or disrespect the queen 

Scrub your teeth three times a day keep mind and body clean 

Save up all your pocket money, nothing is for free 

And you'd better trust your parents cos there's no one else you see 

And then they send you off each day remember what you're told 

"You may think you don't need teaching but you'll need it when you're old" 

And if you're too intelligent they'll cut you down to size 

They'll praise you til you're happy then they'll fill you full of lies 

Cos intelligence is threatening and genius is sin 

If you could ever see through them they know they'd never win 

So they channel your ability into the right direction 

If you're good enough and rich enough you can be a politician 

On the other hand if your too thick they'll tell you that you're lazy 

They'll put you down and wind you up until it drives you crazy 

They'll say you ought to learn a trade to help you in your life 

Success is written in three parts: A job, a house, a wife 

They'll say that school prepares you for the awesome world outside 

Well it certainly gives you bigotry and patriotic pride 

Racism, sexism teacher to class 

From school to work remains the sameare you white and middle class? 

You'll learn that bad men dress in black and good men dress in white 

And the pamphlets in the playground say that's right 

And that girls were made for housework and boys were made to fight 

And the naughty pictures on page 3 make everything alright 

And so from school to the outside world these morals you will take 

And unless you can reject them you'll have your mind at stake 

They'll give you a decision when you get to 18, too 

The right to vote for someone else who says he cares for you 

But the only thing he cares about is getting to the top 

By conning you with empty words that promise you a lot 

But the end result is slavery to a false set of ideals 

You'll be tempted to believe them cos they'll seem so very real 

The slavery of attitudes that make you keep in line 

Subconsciously devoted to the morals of our time 

And when you end up on the dole which you very likely will 

They'll offer you a brand new trade: Learning how to kill 

Why don't you join the army? Be a man and not a fool 

There's someone else to think for you just like there was at school 

They'll promise you absolution from the murders you'll commit 

In the name of god and country they can get away with it 

They fill you full of orders and promise you rewards 

Like busting up your family by sending you abroad 

A holiday in Germany or Iceland or Hong Kong 

Making money being useless well it seems it can't go wrong 

But then it's off to Northern Ireland where you'll practice what they preached 

You'll shoot to keep yourself alive and kill to keep the peace 

And then it won't be so much fun as you hear the wounded crying 

Cos before they couldn't speak english and you didn't know what they were saying 

But when the children call you "Bastard" it will make you think again 

When you cannot tell the difference between animals and men 

Animals don't wear uniforms but they kill as much as you 

But the army kills for money and animals kill for food 

It's the basest degredation in the name of what is right 

Become something you never were and regret it til you die 

Cos your father will tell you "Sonny, you must do as you are told" 

And you'll say the same thing to your kids when you're 32 years old 

And unless you can react against the brainwash from the start 

Your government will rule your mind and your mind will rule your heart 

You'll conform to every social law and be the system's slave 

From birth to school to work to death, from the cradle to the grave.....