HERE IT COMES

Next
Stage
In the mystery of the human development
Is that of
Old age
Coming on
Just about when you learn
How to do
What they have been trying to teach you
You begin to fumble
And then you have to
Pull yourself together
And for another few years
Act as though
You still could do it
And then everybody else begins to see
That he’s not doing so well
They put another waiter in
To take over the job for you
And
That kind of thing
You are gradually
Eased out
You are gradually
Eased out

[Chorus]
The first half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’
And the last half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’

In other words
The first function
Of the
Local social mythology
Was to
Bring you from childhood
Dependency
To responsibility
In terms
Of the social demand
And then just about when you are beginning to feel good about it all
The society that has said
You’ve got to do what we want
Begins to say
Well
It looks as though you can’t do what we want
So
You are on your own
Then you have what’s called a nervous breakdown

[Chorus]
The first half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’
And the last half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’

The
Next problem then
In a mythological order
That is going to take care of us
Is to tell us what to do with our psyches
When that begins to happen
The economic problem isn’t the main one
Not that somebody should
You know
Give you a fishing rod
And send you out fishing
And then have dinner for you when you come home

It’s what are you gonna do?
With that
Power inside you
What are you gonna do?
With that
Power inside you
What are you gonna do?
With that
Power inside you
What are you gonna do?
With that
Power inside you
What are you gonna do?
With that
Power inside you

[Chorus]
The first half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’
And the last half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’

You’ve become
Somewhat
Aware
Of the world
Of the mystery of the world
And you just don’t want to go doodling along with silly little children’s tasks
And that’s not what you’re
Worth
It’s not what you are ready for
There are problems to face
The most challenging one
Is death
Man is the only animal that knows he’s going to die
And as soon as you fumble that ball
It’s coming
It’s coming

[Chorus]
The first half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’
And the last half of life
When there is a knock on the door
You think
‘Here it comes‘
‘Here it comes’

So
We find
This
Wonderful problem
And mythologies
In general
The religions
Have served it
They have provided
Images
Tasks
Discipline
That carry the child
From
Childhood dependency to responsibility
Rather simple responsibilities
Those that society says
You’ve got to
Accept
And then
They’ve provided
A way out
They tell you
That daddy
Will beat a bear
And you’re going back home

Now this isn’t quite enough anymore
Either [audience laughter]
Is it any wonder that our clergymen look a little bit anxious these days?
[audience laughter fades]