Inmates of the Institution

Inmates of the institution!
Why are you waving through the madhouse fence?
Do your absent bodies hear your soul's lament?

Inmates of the institution!
Who are you waiting for with hollow eyes?
Do you think he'll come this way before he dies?
Or did he pass once in disguise?

Did you laugh at the ragman, did you?
When he called for your rags, rags.
I'll bet a buck you didn't bow.

     And now you're waiting in your holy clothes,
     Naked but afraid to expose
     Your need for a sign,
     But keep in line.

     Standing in a painless haze,
     Waiting for the blameless days
     Of wine.
     I'll bet the water never was.

Did you follow the flagman, did you?
When he marched with his flags, flags.
I'll bet you wondered where he went.

     You've spent a lifetime in a madhouse yard,
     Waiting for the mystic guard
     To come with a key
     And make you free.

     Hoping that he'll find the gate,
     Wondering if he'll make you late,
     For tea.
     I'll bet you never miss a meal.

Inmates of the institution!

Did you laugh at the race man, did you?
When he started to cry.
Did you follow the space man, did you?
Just because he was high.
Did you laugh at the ragman, did you?
When he put out his light.
Did you follow the flagman, did you?
Just because he was white.

Inmates of the institution! Do you wonder where your leaders ran?
Where were you looking when he sent the man?
Ah, you do the best you can.

Music
Still working on this one. For a start, the 'verse' is in Eb, and the 'chorus' in G.