Emma tried to run away,I followed her across the city,She went out to the Easterhouse,Because she liked the sound of it. She didn't have a single penny,She stuck a finger in the air,She tried to flag down an aeroplane,I suppose she needs a holiday. I put my arm around her waist,She put me on the ground with Judo,She didn't recognise my face,She wasn't even looking. Laura's feeling just ideal,Her horoscope was nearly perfect,She's thinking of something to do,Because she is The Birthday Girl. She walked out to the edge of town,She saw me lying in the park,She took Emma by the hand,They've got a lot in common. I'll leave them to do what they want,I'll leave them to do what they need to,I'll go and play with words and pictures,I'll admit I'm feeling strange. I'm not as sad as Doestoevsky,I'm not as clever as Mark Twain,I'll only buy a book for the way it looks,And then I stick it on the shelf again. Now I could tell you what I'm thinking,But it never seems to do you good,It's beyond me what a girl can see,I'm only lucid when I'm writing songs. This is just a modern rock song,This is just a sorry lament,We're four boys in corduroys,We're not terrific but we're competent. Stevie's full of good intentions,Richards into rock 'n' roll,Stuart's staying in and he thinks it's a sin,That he has to leave the house at all. This is just a modern rock song,This is just a tender affair,I count "three, four" and then we start to slow,Because a song has got to stop somewhere.

In the hope I'll forget I'll waitIt's a chance I'll take oh yeahIn the hope I'll forget I'll waitFor the time In the spring I'll watch my stepWhile the night-time passes byWhen a smile suits me all aloneI'll be fine There's got to be a better song to singBefore I hang upon your shoulderTelling the truth it may be bolder this timeThere's got to be a better song to singThat makes a lonely one less cold ohBefore I hang upon your shoulder and cry Watching friends playing in the dirtFeeling hard but feeling hurtBy the sadness that wastes my timeIt's a crime Counting acts which I must addTo collect sad memoriesFrom a past I'd soon forgetSwap or leave There's got to be a better song to singBefore I hang upon your shoulderTelling the truth it may be bolder this timeThere's got to be a better song to singThat makes a lonely one less cold oh Before I hang upon your shoulder and cryAt the gate I'll wave goodbyeTo the friends that were my liesAnd I'll see them off at dawnFeeling wiseFeeling wiseFeeling wise

And the moment will come when composure returnsPut a face on the world, turn your back to the wallAnd you walk twenty yards with your head in the airDown the Liberty Hill, where the fashion brigade Look with curious eyes on your raggedy wayAnd for once in your life you've got nothing to sayAnd could this be the time when somebody will come?To say, "Look at yourself, you're not much use to anyone" Take a walk in the park, take a Valium pillRead the letter you got from the memory girlBut it takes more than this to make sense of the dayYeah, it takes more than milk to get rid of the taste And you trusted to this, and you trusted to thatAnd when you saw it all come, it was waving the flagOf the United States of Calamity, heyAfter all that you've done, boy, I know you're going to pay In the morning you come to the ladies' salonTo get all fitted out for The Paperback ThroneBut the people are living far away from the placeWhere you wanted to help, you're a bit of a waste And the puzzle will last 'till somebody will say"There's a lot to be done while your head is still young"If you put down your pen, leave your worries behindThen the moment will come and the memory will shine Now the trouble is over, everybody got paidEverybody is happy, they are glad that they cameThen you go to the place where you've finally foundYou can look at yourself, sleep the clock around

Is it wicked not to care when they say that you're mistakenThinking hopes and lots of dreams that aren't there?Is it wicked not to care when you've wasted many hoursTalking endlessly to anyone that's there? I know the truth awaits meBut still I hesitate because of fear Skipping tickets, making rhymes, is that all that you believe in?Wearing rags to make you pretty by designRusting armor for effect, it's not fun to watch the rust growFor it will all be over when you're dead Counting acts and clutching thoughts by the river where the moss growsOver rocks, the water running all the timeIs it wicked when you smile even though you feel like crying?Even though you could be sick at any time But if there was a sequelWould you love me as an equal?Would you love me 'till I'm dead? But if there was a sequelWould you love me as an equal?Would you love me 'till I'm dead? And if there was a sequelWould you love me as an equal?Would you love me 'till I'm dead?Or is there someone else instead?

Seymour SteinI've been lonelyCaught a glimpse of someone's faceIt was mine and I'd been crying Half a world awayTicket for a planeRecord company manI won't be coming to dinner My thoughts are far awayI'm working on that dayNorth country girlI think she's going to stay Promises of famePromises of fortuneLA to New YorkSan Francisco back to Boston Has he ever seen Dundee?Won't he hire a limousine?Seymour, send her back to me I heard dinner went wellYou liked Chris' jacketHe reminded you of JohnnyBefore he went electronic Seymour SteinSorry I missed youHave a nice flight homeIt's a good day for flying

If you want me I'll be there, a boy to deal with all your problemsBut part of the deal is for you to feel somethingIf you want me, look me up, I don't exist in usual placesSubtle as the wind is grey If you want me, you know where I am, I saw your arms in a dreamAnd there were blue veins blue, blue veinsIf you want me, all you have to do is ask a thousand questionsTriplicate and file under "simple things you ask to make a young boy sigh" A young boy sighA young boy sighA young boy sigh

I fought in a war and I left my friends behind meTo go looking for the enemy, and it wasn't very longBefore I would stand with another boy in front of meAnd a corpse that just fell into me, with the bullets flying round And I reminded myself of the words you said when we were getting onAnd I bet you're making shells back home for a steady boy to wearRound his neck, well it won't hurt to think of you as if you're waiting forThis letter to arrive because I'll be here quite a while I fought in a war and I left my friends behind meTo go looking for the enemy, and it wasn't very longBefore I found out that the sickness there ahead of meWent beyond the bedsit infamy of the decade gone before And I reminded myself of the words you said when we were getting onAnd I bet you're making shells back home for a steady man to wearRound his neck, well it won't hurt to think of you as if you're waiting forThis letter to arrive because I'll be here quite a while I fought in a war, and I didn't know where it would endIt stretched before me infinitely, I couldn't really thinkOf the day beyond now, keep your head down palThere's trouble plenty in this hour, this dayI can see hope I can see light And I reminded myself of the looks you gave when we were getting onAnd I bet you're making shells back home for a steady man to wearRound his neck, well it won't hurt to think of you as if you're waiting forThis letter to arrive because I'll be here quite a while

I will confess to youBecause you made me think about the timesYou turn the picture on to me and I'll turn overThe picture was a masterpiece of comic timingBut you wouldn't laugh at allAnd I wonder what the boy was thinkingThe picture was an old collage of something classicalThe model with the tragic airBecause without a doubt he'd given up the fightThe ghost of somebody at his side I will confess to youBecause I didn't think about the messageAs I walked down the alleyway it was a SundayAnd all my friends deserted me because you painted meAs the fraud I really wasAnd if you think you see with just your eyes you're mad'Cause Lisa learned a lot from putting on a blindfoldWhen she knew she had been badShe met another blind kid at a fancy dressIt was the best sex she ever had I'll send a dress to youBecause it's needing badly taken inBut I was so embarressed that I missed your partyIt was me that paid for it eventuallyBecause you know how much I wantedTo meet your friend the star of stage and local pressThe dream of all the bowlie kids that hang around hereAnd I'm no different from the restI'm not too proud to say that I'm okay withThe girl next door who's famous for showing her chest You're not impressed by meBut it's a funny way for you to tell meA whisper in a choir stallThe man was talking about you simultaneouslyFrankly, I let my heavy eyelids flutterBecause I have been sleeping badly latelyI know you were historical from all the books I've readBut I thought you could be bluffingAnd with this chance I've missed I feel remissIt's days and months before I see you again

Joseph was travelling with a heavy loadHis dreams were broken and deep sorrow flowed from his brow Closer to sundown he prepared to restSet down the burden,lay upon his chestThen she came Sir, come to me and I will keep you warmTaste hope in my skin and faith with the dawnYou will rise Beyond the sunrise that is where we liveFeeding our counsel and true comfort giveTravelling men Joseph was sure the liquor had caused this dreamHis eyes were sure that heaven was not her sceneShe was no saintSir, come to me and I will keep you warmTaste hope in my skin and faith with the dawn you will rise

All the way back homeI'm telling you I caught the sunCreeping up behind my shoulderAnd another day's begunI was following a trailI'd never been along beforeChasing darkened skies above meLooking like the springLike the winterAnd the morning If there's a place I want to goThen I'll be there with you'Cos in my dreams the thingsI'm wishing forKeep coming true Now a new day comesClears the darkness out of sightAnd the shadows that were sleepingCome and dance beneath the lightAnd I'm trying hard to hideKeeping the sun out of my eyesClose them tightAnd now I'm waiting for the moon to rise Don't try to say to meThat this was never meant to be'Cos the days are long where I come fromThe next few days I'm freeThere's a train I want to catchBut it won't leave here for a whileTill darkness fills the eastern skyAnd streetlights stretch for milesThrough the springAnd the winter and the morning