Kevin Gilbert was a master lyricist (among many other things), IMO.
Below are the lyrics from "Joytown", from Thud:
Fathers they have big hands and they pat gently
on your head
Mothers always make sure everyone is happy
and well fed
And everything is instant, no one has to
wait to long
And Lennon never has to sing a Paul McCartney
song
We're living here in Joytown, the City of
the Sun
And everyone loves everyone loves every single
one
No one sells his roommate's stuff so he can
get a fix
And no one fears the darkness, no one fears
the number six
Everyone talks openly of great things they
have read
And no one ever says the things that are
better left unsaid
And everyone has someone they can share their
sadness with
No one leaves the slightest doubt, no one
takes the fifth
Jesus and Muhammed and Buddha live in town
Zoraster and Ba'h'aula and Moses hangs around
And when they get together they are quite
a noisy crew
They laugh about their legacies over cigarettes
and brew
Senator McCarthy enjoys a book by Marx
And people tear down parking lots
So they can build more parks
And Jimi plays the perfect note that never
seems to end
and Martin Luther King has got a blond white
girlfriend
We're singing here in Joytown
Won't you come and sing along?
We'll never tell you that you ain't singing
the right notes,
Never criticize your song.
Note the verses highlighted in blue. Now take a look at the lyrics from
"Fly on the Windscreen" from Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway:
Echoes of the Broadway Everglades,
With her mythical madonnas still walking in their shades:
Lenny Bruce, declares a truce and plays his other hand.
Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand.
Sirens on the rooftops wailing, but there's no ship sailing.
Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing.
Klu Klux Klan serve hot soul food and the band plays 'In the Mood'
The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand, there's a smell of
peach blossom and bitter almonde.
Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he know in a scent,
you can bottle all you made.
There's Howard Hughes in blue suede shoes, smiling at the majorettes
smoking Winston Cigarettes.
And as the song and dance begins, the children play at home
with needles; needles and pins.
Notice any similarities? 