History Will Teach Us Nothing - Sting

If we seek solace in the prisons of the distant past

Security in human systems we’re told will always always last

Emotions are the sail and blind faith is the mast

Without a breath of real freedom we’re getting nowhere fast

If God is dead and an actor plays his part

His words of fear will find their way to a place in your heart

Without the voice of reason every faith is its own curse

Without freedom from the past things can only get worse

Sooner or later

Our written history is a catalogue of crime

The sordid and the powerful, the architects of time

The mother of invention, the oppression of the mild

The constant fear of scarcity, aggression as its child

Convince an enemy, convince him that he’s wrong

Is to win a bloodless battle where victory is long

A simple act of faith

In reason over might

To blow up his children will only prove him right

History will teach us nothing

History will teach us nothing

Sooner or later just like the world first day

Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away

Sooner or later just like the world first day

Sooner or later we learn to throw the past away

Know you human rights

Be what you come here for

Sooner or later