The sun struggles up another beautiful day / And I felt glad in my own suspicious way / Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah / Despite the contradiction and confusion / Felt tragic without reason / There’s malice and there’s magic in every season / From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf / The other side of summer / To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf / The other side of summer

The automatic gates close up between the shanties and the palace / The blowtorch amusements, the voodoo chalice / The pale pathetic promises that everybody swallows / A teenage girl is crying ’cause she don’t look like a million dollars / So help her if you can / ’Cause she don’t seem to have the attention span

From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf / The other side of summer / To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf / The other side of summer

Was it a millionaire who said “imagine no possessions”? / A poor little schoolboy who said “we don’t need no lessons”? / The rabid rebel dogs ransack the shampoo shop / The pop princess is downtown shooting up / And if that goddess if fit for burning / The sun will struggle up the world will still keep turning

Madman standing by the side of the road saying / “Look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes, look at my eyes” / Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah / Now you can’t afford to fake all the drugs your parents used to take / Because of their mistakes you’d better be wide awake

From the foaming breakers of the poisonous surf / The other side of summer / To the burning forests in the hills of Astroturf / The other side of summer

The mightiest rose / The absence of perfume / The casual killers / The military curfew / The cardboard city / An unwanted birthday / The other side of summer

The dancing was desperate, the music was worse / They bury your dreams and dig up the worthless / Goodnight / God bless / And kiss “goodbye” to the earth / The other side of summer / The other side of summer / The other side of summer / The other side of summer / The other side of summer / The other side of summer / The other side / The other side / The other side, oh…

[By Declan MacManus © Universal Music Publishing Group, 1991]