If I wake before the sun rises
I remember stories old
Told to me by my mother's voice
As the sky it turns from blue to gold

She told me of the day she learned
That madness is a man, oh
Madness is a man among us, oh
And she let the madness in

Like any other man I have a code
And hold my friends to higher standards
But out on Ellen's Quay a new crop of kids
Every year with louder voices
Well, trying to reach them
Is like sewing up a geyser
'Cause madness is a man, oh
Madness is a man among us, oh
They will let the madness in

And then there are those
Who can make time stop
Crush the future into present
Your job, your house, your family
Turn to dust in an instant
And a single word
From your lover's voice
Says madness is a man, oh
Madness is a man among us, oh
You will let the madness in