Smokestacks and Steeples

[Chorus]
Smokestacks, not steeples, towered over the people
No bells, now whistles kept the time
Men sought nothing higher than sated desire
While neon, not fire, lit the signs

[Verse 1]
It was a time very like our own
When gods and princes were overthrown
It was a time very like our own
When gods and and princes were overthrown
It was an age when everything was rearranged
Put the devils out of sight and the heavens within range
Some found it a was wonder, for others it was strange
Sans humanité

[Chorus]
Smokestacks, not steeples, towered over the people
No bells, now whistles kept the time
And men no longer wanted a world that was haunted
Still haunted by the divine

[Verse 2]
It was a time very like our own
When long-held custom was outgrown
Men in boots marched to new absolutes
Trying to pull the tree up by the roots
They sought relief in the arms of unbelief
But the emptiness that followed had them rushing after dreams
Which paraded down their promenades, went dancing across their screens
Sans humanité

[Chorus]
Smokestacks, not steeples, towered over the people
No bells, now whistles kept the time
And men no longer wanted a world that was haunted
Still haunted by the divine

[Bridge]
And prophets of doom said the end would come soon
We'd fade into the night just like the waning of the moon
While sour statisticians said we were running out of room
There was no light to pierce the gloom

[Chorus]
Smokestacks, not steeples, towered over the people
No bells, now whistles kept the time
Men no longer wanted a world that was haunted
Still haunted by the divine

Smokestacks, not steeples, towered over the people
No bells, now whistles kept the time
Men sought nothing higher than sated desire
While neon, not fire, lit the signs
Neon, not fire, lit the signs
Neon, not fire, lit the signs