The Institute Of Mental Health Burning Lyrics

The Institute Of Mental Health Burning lyrics

It was the first day of July;
no wind breathed in the sky
when a
pin-striped suit
saw that the Institute of Mental Health was
burning.

He stood upon the corner
where the sun was
warmer...
looking across the street,
he moved the shackles on his
feet
as the Institute was burning.

Flames were roaring, singing like
a thunderstorm;
smoke was pouring straight up to the sky;
windows
smashing, Gothic doors and lintels fall;
timbers crashing and we both know
why.

Nobody else came by to stare;
you see, they didn't really
care.
Can't call the fire brigade -
none of them had been paid
and so
the Institute was burning.

Throughout the city, people say it isn't
pretty,
everyone agrees, and everyone feels glad;
doctored brains
celebrate and everyone waves their chains...
It's a pity they're all
mad.

The Institute of Mental Health
spontaneously killed
itself.
Ashes to ashes
and dust to dust:
my chains began to rust
as
the Institute was burning, burning, burning.

(Chris Judge Smith)