When the earth split apart
It was under the reign of bandits
Who had disfigured everything
Every town surrounded by
Its cortege of hangars
Its rows of car parks
The motorways were full
Of lorries in Indian-file
Of convoys jammed to the toll-gates
We hardly spoke to one another
And everyone hurried about
Their screen held in front of their face
The neighbouring land is covered by clouds
We separated by belief
Lessons in self-defence
Roads marked ‘no entry’
Smoke or fog
Impossible to tell
Every evening heavier
We were drowning in plastic
From convenience foods
That the sea threw onto the beaches
Good men, dignitaries
Everyone let it happen
For profit of lack of courage
The neighbouring land is covered by clouds
Under the hurried feet, a herd of the panicking sheep
The kneeling shepherd searching for the compass
And the starving wolves who wait at the wire fence
Fallen in the middle of a school playground
The unseated rainbow lying on the ground
And everyone believe childish nonsense
The neighbouring land is covered by clouds
Covered by clouds
When the earth split apart
It was under the reign of bandits
Who had planned it well
They'd hogged the duvet well
Profited from nature
And disappeared, one knows not where
Under the headphones and the speakers
Of the never switched off tellies
The same message rolled by
Forgive me for repeating it but
There is no cause for concern
The neighbouring land is covered by clouds
There is no cause for concern
It’s the neighbouring land
The neighbouring land that's covered by clouds
Never be like those panicking sheep
Said the kneeling shepherd searching for the compass
The neighbouring land is covered by clouds