Iron Man Recitative - Pete Townshend

The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff

How far had he walked?

Nobody knows

Where had he come from?

Nobody knows

How was he made?

Nobody knows

Taller than a house, the Iron Man stood at the top of the cliff, in the darkness

The wind sang through his iron fingers

And his great iron head, shaped like a dustbin but as big as a bedroom

Slowly turned to the right

Slowly turned to the left

He was hearing the sea

His eyes like headlamps, glowed white then red

Then infa-red, searching the sea

Never before had the Iron Man seen the sea

He swayed in the strong wind that pressed against his back

He swayed forward, on the brink of the high cliff

And his right foot, his enormous iron right foot, lifted-up, out

Into space

And the Iron Man stepped forward, off the cliff, into nothingness

CRASH

Down the cliff the Iron Man came toppling head over heels

CRASH!

CRASH!

CRASH!

From rock to rock, tumbling slowly

And as he crashed and crashed his iron legs fell off

His iron arms broke off, and the hands broke off the arms

His great iron ears fell off

And his eyes fell out

His great iron head fell off

All the separate pieces tumbled scattered crashing

Bumping clanging down, on to the rocky beach below

Then silence

Nobody knew the Iron Man had fallen

Nobody knew the Iron Man had fallen