Primo On The Parapet - Peter Hammill

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