The Second Hand [The Margin] Peter Hammill (Ft. The K Group)

[Verse 1]
See the old man acting like a fool
Yeah, he's running from the ambulance
When he was a youngster he broke all the rules –
And now he says that was just accident
Always had the feeling he was going to die young
So now he feels repentant;
But the judge was progressive and the jury was hung
He got a suspended sentence
So he ran from his future, he ran from his past
Yes, he ran from the desert of the hour-glass
But the sea of time is a rising flood
And he's swamped by the wave

[Bridge]
His arms go limp by his side
He only came for the ride
He thought he'd hold back the tide
Canute

[Verse 2]
One eye on the main chance and one eye on the clock
Oh, when did his brain go?
And when does a veteran get to be a crock...
No gold at the end of this rainbow!
He always boxed clever with his shadowy hopes
But now he's in trouble with his back on the ropes
And the hands of time are bunched into fists:
And he's out for the Count