Strangeways, Here We Come

At the record company meeting
On their hands - a dead star
And oh, the plans they weave
And oh, the sickening greed

At the record company party
On their hands - a dead star
The sycophantic slags all say :
"i knew him first, and i knew him well"


Re-issue ! re-package ! re-package !
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra track (and a tacky badge)


A-list, playlist
"please them , please them !"
"please them !"
(sadly, this was your life)


But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have said no
If you'd wanted to


Bpi, mtv, bbc
"please them ! please them !"
(sadly this was your life)


But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have walked away
...couldn't you ?


I touched you at the soundcheck
You had no real way of knowing
In my heart i begged "take me with you ...
I don't care where you're going..."


But to you i was faceless
I was fawning, i was boring
Just a child from those ugly new houses
Who could never begin to know


Who could never really know
Oh ...


Best of ! most of !
Satiate the need
Slip them into different sleeves !
Buy both, and feel deceived


Climber - new entry, re-entry
World tour ! ("media whore")
"please the press in belgium !"
(this was your life...)


And when it fails to recoup ?
Well, maybe :
You just haven't earned it yet, baby


I walked a pace behind you at the soundcheck
You're just the same as i am
What makes most people feel happy
Leads us headlong into harm


So, in my bedroom in those 'ugly new houses'
I danced my legs down to the knees
But me and my 'true love'
Will never meet again ...


At the record company meeting
On their hands - at last ! - a dead star !
But they can never taint you in my eyes
No, they can never touch you now


No, they cannot hurt you, my darling
They cannot touch you now
But me and my 'true love'
Will never meet again

I won't share you, no
I won't share you
With the drive
And ambition
The zeal i feel
This is my time

The note i wrote
As she read, she said
"has the perrier gone
Straight to my head
Or is life sick and cruel, instead ?"


"yes !"
No - no - no - no - no - no
No - no - no - no - no - no
Oh ...


I won't share you, no
I won't share you
With the drive
And the dreams inside
This is my time


Life tends to come and go
That's ok
As long as you know
Life tends to come and go
As long as you know
Know, know, know, know, know
Know, know, know, know
Oh ...


I won't share you, no
I won't share you
With the drive
And the dreams inside
This is my time


I want the freedom and i want the guile
I want the freedom and the guile
Oh, life tends to come and go
As long as you know
Know, know, know, know
Know, know, know, know
Oh ...


I won't share you, no
I won't share you
I'll see you somewhere
I'll see you sometime
Darling ...

The lanes were silent
There was nothing, no one, nothing around for miles
I doused our friendly venture
With a hard-faced
Three-word gesture

I started something
I forced you to a zone
And you were clearly
Never meant to go
Hair brushed and parted
Typical me, typical me
Typical me
I started something
...and now i'm not too sure


I grabbed you by the guilded beams
Uh, that's what tradition means
And i doused another venture
With a gesture
That was ... absolutely vile


I started something
I forced you to a zone
And you were clearly
Never meant to go
Hair brushed and parted
Typical me, typical me
Typical me
I started something
...and now i'm not too sure


I grabbed you by the guilded beams
Uh, that's what tradition means
And now eighteen months' hard labour
Seems ... fair enough


I started something
And i forced you to a zone
And you were clearly
Never meant to go
Hair brushed and parted
Typical me, typical me
Typical me
I started something
And now i'm not too sure


I started something
I started something
Typical me, typical me
Typical me, typical me
Typical me, typical me
Typical me
I started something
And now i'm not too sure


Ok stephen ? ...do that again ?

Last night i dreamt
That somebody loved me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm

Last night i felt
Real arms around me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm


So, tell me how long
Before the last one ?
And tell me how long
Before the right one ?


The story is old - i know
But it goes on
The story is old - i know
But it goes on


Oh, goes on
And on
Oh, goes on
And on

Stop me, oh, stop me
Stop me if you think that you've
Heard this one before
Stop me, oh, stop me
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before

Nothing's changed
I still love you, oh, i still love you
...only slightly, only slightly less than i used to, my love


I was delayed, i was way-laid
An emergency stop
I smelt the last ten seconds of life
I crashed down on the crossbar
And the pain was enough to make
A shy, bald, buddhist reflect
And plan a mass murder
Who said lied i'd to her ?


Oh, who said i'd lied because i never ? i never !
Who said i'd lied because i never ?
I was detained, i was restrained
And broke my spleen
And broke my knee
(and then he really laced into me)
Friday night in out-patients
Who said i'd lied to her ?


Oh, who said i'd lied ? - because i never, i never
Who said i'd lied ? - because i never


Oh, so i drank one
It became four
And when i fell on the floor ...
...i drank more


Stop me, oh, stop me
Stop me if you think that you've
Heard this one before
Stop me, oh, stop me
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before


Nothing's changed
I still love you, oh, i still love you
...only slightly, only slightly less than i used to, my love