A Maths Lesson Lyrics

We take numbers

We make them add-up

To an exact total equal to

The sum of its parts

What else is there to do

This isn't Art: no splash of colour

Against gridded paper

Every tenth is filled with nothing

We take the numbers

We catch them in a stapled net

We watch symbols gasp for air

As we divide their roots by zero

This isn't Geography

No topographic representation

Of how close the figures are to our eyes

The tops of ones spike pupils

This isn't Drama: no flailing arms

No imaginary tears, no fingernail-leaves

That dance in an exhaled wind

We take the numbers

We catch them in a stapled net

We watch symbols gasp for air

As we divide their roots by zero

This is Maths

Follow the rules

Eliminate the random

Rein in the mania of infinity

Set a routine of calculus

Statistics, algebra and be cunning

In your calculations

We take the numbers

We catch them in a stapled net

We watch symbols gasp for air

As we divide their roots by zero

We take the numbers

We catch them in a stapled net

We watch symbols gasp for air

As we divide their roots by zero