It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career

(album: The Boy With The Arab Strap - 1998)

He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Painting lines in a school that was too well known
Painting lines with a friend that had gone before
She challenged everyone to a fight
But the prefects all backed down
And they ran her out of town
Cause she drank and swore and spoke
Out of turn, she was the village joke
She had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Getting clients to finance her strategies
Filling time in on Safeways on Saturday
She wears the clothes of an emperor
But her paintings are a sham
And they're going for a grand
When the dealers come to view
Do they ever see the real you?

He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Selling lies to the boys with the old Dansettes
Pulling the wool, playing the fool, it's no wonder that
He is dribbling spit tonight
And the one he sent away
Was the only one who stayed
With a spoon and a decent book
And you can tell by the way she looks he is sorry and resigned
As he wets himself for the final time