Doktor Hjälplös [Doktor Hjaelploes] [English translation]

For those who lose their way in life's carousel

and who steal for their security, the solution is a cell.

And if one suffers from claustrophobia the sword is good and nice.

Yes, he has clear instructions, he has training in care,

so he knows the right grip when the straight jacket shall be on.

And if one is still not grateful there are syringes one can get.

Yes, Doctor Helpless is a coward

he heals a symptom, because the sickness itself,

he doesn't want to cure it.

And those who are thrown out of the schools for a future without jobs

because the machines take over so the momentum can be drawn up,

to pay for the men at the top of social ladder,

yes, they can escape from boredom with thinner intoxication and marijuana,

and drive around on the streets until the police make a raid

and hunt them down in six hours because the police themselves are scared.

Yes, Doctor Helpless is coward

he heals a symptom, because the sickness itself,

he doesn't want to cure it.

And in the quiet coldness of the suburbs where concrete makes one silent,

and where the door chains witness our loneliness,

yes, there are the farms which still are in service with white rooms,

encumbered with juke boxes and pinball games.

But although the law book is larger in time with our misery

it is always the measure of our justice.

Yes, it is just as fucking fair now as in Paris a long time ago

there all were imprisoned who lived under the bridges.

But if one believes that infections can be cured with bandages

one is as dumb as the ostriches when fear grips,

because with the head under the sand one is unprotected in the back.

Yes, Doctor Helpless is a coward

he heals a symptom, because the sickness itself,

he doesn't want to cure it.

• Artist:Björn Afzelius
• Album:För kung och fosterland (1978)