"Jeunesse Doree" lyrics - PETER HAMMILL

The youth are voting with their feet,
Such a shame that the dance-beat gets so complicated.
Pretty, pretty it seems...
On second glance, the look is overrated.
In the hot-house there's a magic potion,
Timeless motion...
Now and again now lasts forever;
Jeunesse d'oree gilding the lily of pleasure.

The youth are voting with their clothes,
Such a shame that the hip pose is so calculated.
Round and round it goes:
How careless the rapture that's overstated.
In the picture lost devotion,
Waveless ocean.
Time and again style goes out of fashion;
Jeunesse d'oree taking the heat out of passion.

Look at the kid with the golden touch,
Check out the stony expression;
Look at the man with the golden arm
And the sensational lesson.
Follow-my-leader's a game we can play
Till we swallow the tail without thinking:
Catch the hook, toe the line
Never mind that we're sinking!

The youth are voting themselves in...
But the wheel takes a fresh spin and they find tomorrow
Gaudy garments worn thin,
All at best rent and the worst are borrowed.
Closing orders, fading nation,
Dissipation...
Time and again, time's unforgiving;
Jeunesse d'oree gilding the lily of living.
Now and again now lasts forever;
Jeunesse d'oree gilding the lily of pleasure.

...Cut.