Lyrics:

[ti:Man With A Stick]
[ar:Fish]
[al:A Parley With Angels]
[by:RobertS]
Old man checks his rear view mirror, wispy hair, familiar eyes
Journeys alone, unsure of the exit
Straddling lanes his signals ignored
Deaf to the horns, blind to the anger
Stalled in the traffic of a fast moving world
Man with a stick
Man with a stick
Long rod dipping fishing hollows, short sword slays the ranks of weeds
Bat of ash on the edge of a diamond
The kiss of willow before tumbling bails
Rock n'roll snares
Cheerleading batons, the pencil scratches on an empty page
A pointer raps on a cloudy blackboard
A cane taps time on an outstretched palm
Learning the lessons
Reciting the mantra that sparing the rod is spoiling the child
Says a man with a stick
Watch the man with the stick, the man with the stick
And you force back the tears
Stand in the corner listening to the sniggering of so called friends
Hold the pain in a fist, stare back in defiance
And vow to yourself that they won't hit you again
Stifled your hate
Channelled the anger, snuck in the system and bided your time
You tightened your lip
Accepted the beatings and they measured you up for a uniform
You fitted the uniform
Then they gave you a stick
A Knobkerrie and a bloodied shillelagh
In calloused hands take the lions down
Pick axe hafts and hickory truncheons
Cracking the skulls on the picket lines
Bamboo staffs and sjambok switches
Cudgels bludgeoning hearts and minds
Clearing the streets of a burning township
Scattering crowds from a city square
Herding the queues of the weak and the hungry
Testing the will of the few who dare face the man with the stick
Man with a stick
Man with a stick
Watch the man with a stick
You dealt out the blows following orders
The questions were left for another time
You held it inside
Absolving your conscience laid all the blame on the 'powers that be'
You gave them your all
Got a watch and a bungalow, mothballed the uniform and faded away
Lost all you loved, withered and vulnerable
Abandoned your car at the side of the road
At the end of the road, your fate unavoidable
The son becomes the man
The man with a stick, man with a stick
Watch the man with a stick
Watch the man with a stick
Old man follows cracks in the pavements
Leans weary at the end of days
Unsteady, checking his balance shuffles along on his lonely trail
A man with a stick
A man with a stick
Man with a stick
Watch the man with a stick
[06:30.24]