Pick it up and pass it on
Pick it up and pass it on
From the ones who've gone to the ones who are coming along
Pick it up and pass it on
Pick it up and pass it on
From the ones who've gone to the ones who are coming along
The sorrow and the jubilation The stories and the revelations
The heavy spur of expectation Moving down through the next generation
The gentle and the stern correction The
loving arms and the fierce protection
How to cope with cold rejection The duties of the close connection
We just pick it up and pass it on
Pick it up and pass it on
From the ones who've gone to the ones who are coming along
How to strip and build an engine How to throw a fishing line
How to start a meal with onions And get it to the mouths on time
How to hit a ball that's worthin' Like a swallow swoopin' by
And if by chance a ball should beat you How to hold your head up high
Pick it up and pass it on
Pick it up and pass it on
From the ones who've gone to the ones who are coming along
But every good thing has another incarnation
Of prejudice, indoctrination
Tribe on tribe, nation against nation
We reap just what we sow
Funny little variations Jump around in different combinations
Granny's love A cousin's famous temper
A dodgy bet Or a head for numbers
We just pick it up and pass it on Pick it up and pass it on
From the ones who've gone to the ones who are coming along
Pick it up and pass it on Pick it up and pass it on
From the ones who've gone to the ones who are coming along