Van Der Graaf Generator - Mr. Sands lyrics

Soon as you like, ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. In a moment there'll be a test of your endurance. Stay in your chairs in the event of a dramatic pause please be aware nothing gets covered by insurance. One final thing: please take the trouble to read through your notes, it's important that you know where you've got to go to. Wait a moment, maybe the usherette'll show you. Such excitement, these are the hoops you've got to go through... The noises off that turn you on stage whispered from the wings, a stifled cough, a joke that bombs, a smoldering fuse wire string. When Mr. Sands is in the house the alarm bells start to ring. Everything's in code in a world we barely know and the truth is only slowly revealed... With best intentions I have strayed far off the beaten track and of attention I displayed a quite spectacular lack. Now Mr. Sands is in the house and the panic bu*ton's smacked. Well, Mr. Sands is in the house: commotion in the stalls and, from the gods, unruly shouts that echo round the hall Yes, someone's let the secret out...the safety curtain falls. And as I look across the stage the thought that first occurs is less that we have come of age and more that we're preserved to pa** our time in different shades of ignorant reserve. Everything's in code till the moment it explodes we suspend belief, get ready to go for the playout of the show - here it is for all we know Mr Sands is always ready to roll