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Don't Tell Them You're Sane Lyrics
A boy I know is sick in his head
At least that’s what the doctors say he is
Shut in his room for hours on end
Looks like he’s forgotten, but is he
His mind it ticks, more than you know
One day something in his head will click
Warders fill him full of lies, he fights he knows
They’ll never convince him that he’s mad
At breakfast he is strapped in a chair (won’t go far)
Just a word out of place, he’s sent to his room
Don’t tell them you’re sane
They’ll laugh and put you to sleep
Don’t tell them you’re sane, but you are
Tell me what you did today, was it good
What was it like and who was it with
Don’t think I’m prying I’d just like to know
Why it is you do things so slow
Take him to the doctor, see what he says
I don’t know why he bothers, he’s in for good
At least that’s what the doctors say he is
Shut in his room for hours on end
Looks like he’s forgotten, but is he
His mind it ticks, more than you know
One day something in his head will click
Warders fill him full of lies, he fights he knows
They’ll never convince him that he’s mad
At breakfast he is strapped in a chair (won’t go far)
Just a word out of place, he’s sent to his room
Don’t tell them you’re sane
They’ll laugh and put you to sleep
Don’t tell them you’re sane, but you are
Tell me what you did today, was it good
What was it like and who was it with
Don’t think I’m prying I’d just like to know
Why it is you do things so slow
Take him to the doctor, see what he says
I don’t know why he bothers, he’s in for good
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Great song about the dark topic of involuntary institutionalization. Interesting to note that writing credits only list Bruce , I never knew which songs were his until I started looking up the songs recently.
This is the second of the two songs on the album inspired by One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
(Where its prequel The Combine ended abruptly, here the lyrics run out, and then there is an unusual guitar-noise coda. Which suggests that this was possibly meant to be the middle section of a suite - co-written by Weller and Foxton. Certainly the concept could have been developed further than two songs).