Pictures of the children on the classroom wall
Frankie Brown's in front of them the fairest of them all.
Working for the future with all his heart and soul
Who's the one to tell him "you'll be signing on the dole."

And you can't run away, no you can't run away
You can't run away from the children of the dole.

Pictures of depression in the mirror of the bar
The dole cheque on the counter, boys, it didn't go to far
Another dream is ended, another job is done
Another factory's closing and the boss is moving on.

Pictures of a minister appear on the TV
He rehearses all the reason why this crisis has to be
The arm's race is expensive much more than we cannot give
There's a lot for the killing but there's not enough to live.

Pictures of the soldier on the memory card
He didn't want to fight but he didn't have a job
Fighting for the motherland, duty must be done
The boy who threw the petrol bomb looked just like his son.

Pictures of the children on the barracks wall
Frankie Brown's in front of them the terror of them all
Standing on the corner nothing much to do
It's the first time he's been wanted - he's staring straight at you.