When I was just a child

My world it was so small

The empty playground swings

The corner shop, the penny drinks

The backyard walls

Of a brave new world

As those years passed by

I never thought to try

To memorise the dreams

The childhood fantasies

Of a brave new world



Some things change, some stay the same

Some don't even notice, some feel the strain

It's everyone's fault and nobody's blame

And who can say if that's too much to ask?



When I was twenty-four

My small world closed the door

I felt like I should cry

I saw men born to kill and born to die

For this brave new world



So now I'm old and grey

And life has passed my way

Those tears have all run dry

Death's desperation lies on every eye

In this brave new world



Some things change, some stay the same

Some don't even notice, some feel the strain

It's everyone's fault and nobody's blame

And who can say if that's too much to ask

Of a brave new world?



You know you were dreaming

You know that the streets weren't paved with gold

You know you were dreaming

It's part of the scheme of things

That "Brother Thrush" grows old