The wound of the warden From cradle to the grave The senseless apprehension Of freedom’s wily ways I know one day they’ll be grateful I know one day they’ll worship me Choice is too precious To be wasted on vermin That’s how we’ll keep them Sheltered, fetal, fed and glutted The sweet drug of anesthesia Hell is easy to find And I know that in time they’ll be glad I kept them blind I will save you, I will absolve you I will spare you, I will rob you I’ll take upon me the canker of knowledge I’ll take upon me the fetid price of glory How great it is, the transcendent goodness The self-assurance of the pure Suffering eases at the gates And laughter ceases at the gates Someone above you always knows better than you There’s something comforting in the stranglehold of a shepherd’s crook How great it is, the transcendent goodness The self-assurance of the pure Not one misstep, not one mistake All calculated for our sake Like children we’ll step into the fire