On the waterfront they're gathered for the feast
To pay homage to the priestess of the waves
Wider and wider the voices ring out loud
In the celebrating crowd of Albion's braves
But someone told me something that I just don't want to hear
Ancestral words that fooled us for the past six hundred years
But they don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
Dreams of old India, the Bible and the Host
To calm the ghost that won't be laid to rest
A distant island becomes the Holy Grail
In the spirit that revived King Arthur's quest
And you may wear her heraldry in tattoos on your arms
But it takes more than bravado now to soothe old England's qualms
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire in the pub and in the pew
But I won't drink with you on empire day
The territories and governors have all gone now
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
And in the theatre the faded actor stands
Our destiny a nipple in his hand
And in the Stock Exchange they fly the Union Flag
Though faceless bankers know no motherland
And as I love my country, the harbours and the sea
I will not serve the warmongers who seek my loyalty
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
To pay homage to the priestess of the waves
Wider and wider the voices ring out loud
In the celebrating crowd of Albion's braves
But someone told me something that I just don't want to hear
Ancestral words that fooled us for the past six hundred years
But they don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
Dreams of old India, the Bible and the Host
To calm the ghost that won't be laid to rest
A distant island becomes the Holy Grail
In the spirit that revived King Arthur's quest
And you may wear her heraldry in tattoos on your arms
But it takes more than bravado now to soothe old England's qualms
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire in the pub and in the pew
But I won't drink with you on empire day
The territories and governors have all gone now
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
But the bloodlust and the cliches linger on
And in the theatre the faded actor stands
Our destiny a nipple in his hand
And in the Stock Exchange they fly the Union Flag
Though faceless bankers know no motherland
And as I love my country, the harbours and the sea
I will not serve the warmongers who seek my loyalty
'Cos it don't ring true any more
Sawdust and empire - the nectar of the few
So give the devil his due and break away
Sawdust and empire with a hint of royal blue
But I won't drink with you on empire day
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