some folks try
to multiply
from sunrise to sunset
leave behind
more of their kind

so no one will forget
but that ain't where I'm coming from - today
those easy girls don't turn me on - anyway
I wanna know where my pride has gone
the party's over
caught in a dream
inside this world machine

teachers teach
and preachers preach
of spiritual evolution
but this big I am
from uncle sham
just adds to my confusion
I've seen his face, I've heard his song - before
but I don't care what time he's on - anymore
I must have been on the streets too long
the party's over
caught in a dream
inside this world machine

I find myself outside your door
trying to make it like before
but you don't follow what I say
and I can tell by your smile
you're no longer a child
that part of you was buried yesterday . . .
. . . who knows
why they come and where they go
in this world machine?

it's the chosen fools
who make the rules
that don't apply to me
with their fast-car games
and counter claims
not my reality

and I don't know if I belong - today
I don't know why my friends have gone - away
I must have been on the streets too long
the party's over
caught in a dream
inside this world machine

(don't knock the system - we'll knock some sense in you
don't beat the system - there's nothing you can do)