from institution to foster home then back inside again

whether I'd get a family I knew not where or when

I'd be told the rules the first day when allocated out

when you know the rules you don't stuff up, you know what it's about

but the officers had procedures they dreamed to earn their pay

new rules to regulate us boys were posted every day

I felt a bit redundant, kind of dunnage, in the way

I wish I'd had a father to defer to and obey

now I have my own place I'm old enough to vote

the features of my childhood are a passing anecdote

I'm asked to tick the card again for an institution crew

who lead with a regulation right, then an uppercut point of view

democracy justifies culture-crawl as the catchwords are unfurled

a saleable, sold proposition for those who'd rule the world

I feel a bit redundant, kind of dunnage, in the way

I wish I had a father to defer to and obey

copyright 2002 Blue Who & Oldshoe.biz