Civilization And Its Discontents - Bruce Cockburn

I need a helmet to protect my head 
I need earphones to hear what gets said 
I need a miracle to keep this little thread from snapping
I know a lot about alienated man 
But we've all heard as much about that as we can stand 
It's just what happens when you let the time span catch you napping

Two forward and one back 
Blind fingers groping for the right track 
What's to do when a stab and a pat on the back look like the same thing?

Civilization and it's discontents 
When all's been said and all the money spent 
Trying to beat the system of the world's events 
Gets you nowhere.

Tired faces with the bus stop blues 
Man on a bench with a blanket of news 
The young Jamaican joking with the old Jew about women
So many people so lost you feel sorry 
But too much pathos just makes you angry 
And even though I know who loves me I'm not that much less lost

Black outline, sliding gray scale 
Subtle variations of dark to pale 
Pearl sky raining light like hail, 
Come on and pierce me 
Raining light like a vision of the holy grail, 
Come on and pierce me
Civilization and it's discontents 
When all's been said and all the money spent 
Trying to beat the system of the world's events Gets you nowhere.