Peter Hammill:Breakthrough

The visitors find the children gone from school:
aged relatives sling their guns across the desks...
There'll be no break-time for them unless
they talk about tomorrow
as though it's already on its way.
Amen, oh yes, they're
waiting for the breakthrough,
waiting for the breakthrough in time.

The visitors hide no aces up their sleeves
and the classroom pulses to many different drums.
If only a breakthrough in time would come.
If only a breakthrough in time would come
there'd be some chance for the visited ones.
We could talk about tomorrow
as though we believed in that.
We could talk about it right now,
and it would come as a shock
to feel the fingernail grow on the trigger finger –
still the visitors clock us
waiting for the breakthrough,
waiting for the breakthrough
with time on our hands.

Waiting for the breakthrough,
waiting for the breakthrough
with time on our hands.
(It's there all the time.)
(repeat to fade)