Van Der Graaf Generator - The Undercover Man Lyrics

Here at the glass, all the usual problems
All the habitual farce
You ask in uncertain voice, what you should do
As if there were a choice but to carry on miming the song
And hope that it all works out right

Tonight it all seems so strange
My spirit feels rigid, my body deranged
Still that's only from one point of view
And we can't have illusion between me and you
My constant friend, ever close at hand, you and the undercover man

I will reflect, "It's very strange to be going through this change
With no idea of what it's all been about
Except in the context of time"
Oh, but I shirk it, I've half a mind not to work it all out

Is this madness just the recurring wave of total emotion
Or a hide for the undercover man
Or a litany, all the signs are there of fervent devotion
Or the cracking of the dam?

It's cracked, smashed and bursting over you
There was no reason to expect such disaster
Now panicking, you burst for air, drowning, you know you care
For nothing and no one but yourself

And would deny
Even this hand which stretches out towards you to help

But would I leave you in this moment of your trial?
Is it my fault that I'm here to see you crying?
These phantom figures all around you should have told you
You should have found out by now
If you hadn't gone and tried to do it all by yourself

Even now we are not lost, if you look out at the night
You'll see the colors and the lights seem to say
People are not far away, at least in distance
And it's only our own dumb resistance that's making us stay

When the madness comes
Let it flood on down and over me sweetly
Let it drown the parts of me, weak and blessed and damned
Let it slake my life, let it take my soul and living completely
Let it be who I am

There may not be time for us all to run in tandem together
The horizon calls with its parallel lines
It may not be right for you to have and hold in one way forever
And yet you still have time, you still have time

[Incomprehensible]