CHORUS
The dock and the nettle
They grow in company
The one to heal the other's hurt
And so all well may be

In hedge and ditch and waste-ground
The wild flowers do grow tall
And the dock and the nettle
Are not the least of all
For some may be more fragrant
And others thought more fair
But none more fast in fellowship
Than this familiar pair

...CHORUS

For we learn when we are children
When we feel the nettle's sting
To seek the dock leaf close at hand
For the comfort it may bring
And so we see that nature
Though cruel, is also kind
And that pain and consolation
Are sometimes thus entwined

...CHORUS

But now as I grow older
It troubles me in mind
My path fills up with nettles
While the dock is hard to find
The world is out of kilter
As madmen make the rules
And a vicious crew of pirates
Commands a ship of fools

...CHORUS

Those who would be rulers
And makers of the law
Should turn their hands to healing
And not to cruel war
And those who would be wise
Should learn a better thing
To be a balm to those for whom
Life holds a bitter sting

...CHORUS