Born To Lead

So you dreamt of being a pilot
But you never got to fly
So you dreamt of sailing the seven seas
But never got to try

Well, let navy lads get soaking
We'll all stay nice and dry
We shout to all the soldiers, "Jump"
And hear them shout, "How high?"

For we were made to give the orders
While lesser men take heed
For some were born to follow
But we were born to lead

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MI5

You're sure to save the nation
Nanny told me in my cot
"For your father gave you courage"
Also ponies, and that yacht

My centuries of breeding
I know they'll fail me not
For fortune favours bravery
And a fortune's what I've got

Oh, yes, some boys go to battle
But we're a different breed
For some were born to follow
But we were born to lead

We are the masters (we are the masters)
We are the clever men who hold the reins
For who needs guns when you've got brains
You'll see forever after (forever after)
And when this war is done and fades to dust
The world will turn and say to us
That we were born to lead

When I was a young explorer (yes)
I discovered a new breed of trout (what?)
It leapt into my kayak and just briefly knocked me out (sorry, what?)
The feeling was quite magical when it slapped me on the mouth
It made the local papers, "Rare Fish Attacks Boy Scout"

It's still my proudest moment
Of that I have no doubt
For some were born to follow
But I was born to find trout
Right, uh, new to MI5, are you?
Uh, no, I've worked here for six years
Oh, right

Yes, you're drinking out of my mug
Oh, right
It's, uh, got a picture of my face on it
Oh, right!
Charles Cholmondeley, scientist
Ewen Montagu, Naval Intelligence
I know
Of course, you do

Well, we know who to call if we there's a fish mishap
Ladies, better keep you're eyes on this chap
Come on, men, we've Hitlers to dispatch
Quite right, lads, but the problem is that

All of mainland Europe is under Adolf's thumb
So we're staging our invasion and the countdown has begun
Our sights are set on Sicily, that stronghold of the Hun
But the island's packed with a hundred thousand German men with guns

And if we cannot storm the beaches
It's sure to spell defeat
If the muscle-men can't do it
Call the masters of deceit

Morning, gentlemen!
Oh, Colonel Bevan sir
Watch out, boys, the big boss is here

Welcome to military deception
Now, as you all know, the next allied invasion target is Sicily
And the key to invading Sicily is not invading Sicily
I'm sorry, what?

Or at least that's what the enemy is going to think
We're going to convince the Germans
That we're headed for somewhere else instead
Sardinia, to be exact
Oh, uh, a misdirection
Exactly!
So we're going to win this war with a magic trick?
How else do we make a hundred thousand German troops disappear?

Sicily could turn the tide of the war
But we can't just rock up and knock up on the door
For each man we've got, they've got ten more
We'd be slaughtered before we'd even reached the shore

We need a way to reduce the danger
Tip the odds in our favour
Go to great lengths to drain the strength of the Sicilian defence
By misdirecting their dear dictator

Gotta make Hitler believe
Sicily isn't where we're gonna be
Gotta proceed with some dishonesty
Gotta deceive
'Cause what I wanna see is hundreds of thousands of Germans
Getting off our property

So I need your brains to figure out
How we sell a fake campaign
Find me a strategy
Use your grey matter to tactically
Scatter the enemy to the breeze (breeze)
Then once the island is unattended (unattended)
Once the beaches are undefended (undefended)
We send our boys in (boys in)
Then we destroy them (destroy them)
That's how Sicily is apprehended (Sicily is apprehended)

So we've got to lie
About where we strike
So we can fool the Reich
This plan is strictly need to know

As of now, I'll be hearing you're proposals
How do we shift the German troops from Sicily to Sardinia
What this country needs is a genius plan
What this country needs is a genius man
For some were born to follow (or there'll be no tomorrow)

But we were born to lead (we are not heroes)
We are the masters (we play our part)
We are the clever men who hold the reins
It's war (it's fun)
It's not a game
You'll see (we do our duty)
Forever after (nothing more)
And when this war is done and fades to dust
There's no applause or fame for us
But we were born to lead

Oh brothers, let's get winning (hear, hear)
My mind shall set us free (three cheers!)
Gonna win the war, champagne galore
As I flick the Hun the V
I'll definitely get a knighthood (oh yes)
And a Victoria Cross or three
Look up victory in the dictionary
There's a picture there of me

We are the finest minds in England
On that we are agreed
For some were born to follow
Some were born to follow
Some were born to follow
But we were born to lead