Primo on the Parapet by Peter Hammill Lyrics

He crawled on hallowed ground without a map;
He walks on hollow legs, leaving no footprint;
Drifts like a ghost through the quarters of lost desire
Breathing underwater, still running through the fire

Four horsemen drive the coach of Holocaust home
And with what sense of history do we view our bright new world
With the video nasty blasting through the set
Of our next door neighbour? Do we learn to forget?
Do we learn just to forget?

And raw barbarity sleeps, spore in soil?
No-one an innocent, no-one entirely immune
Still we wait for a saviour, there are no saints as yet
Just that gilt badge of survival, we learn to forget

The blindest eye is turned on the beast we clothe
Drab in the uniform of silent acquiescence
So I'll raise this toast to Primo, climbing up upon the parapet
With one final word of caution: we must learn not to forget
We must learn not to forget
We must learn not to forget
There's pain in remembrance
But we must learn not to forget

Here's a toast to Primo
Let's learn not to forget
Here's a toast to Primo
Forgive but don't forget
Here's a toast to Primo
Let's learn not to forget

One last word of caution
From the very rim of the parapet
One last word in remembrance…
We must learn not to forget