Lesson One

(album: The Outer Marker - 2002)

It's hard sometimes trying to be a geezer
A good bloke
Five pints down the local pub
Laughing at a filthy joke
And sleeping around
Just so that you can brag about it
You've got to get the crumpet
So you can blow your own trumpet
And talking about football
When you couldn't really give a fuck
About Owen being injured
And Watford's run of bad luck
And cheering when a fight breaks out
Even though you're feeling sick
As a parrot
But like a donkey to a carrot
You can't help yourself
Cos any sign of weakness
Could be used to inflict injuries
By one of your so-called friends
To hide his own insecurities
And nothing to look forward to
But daily stress and bringing home the bacon
And thinking about the other half of your wages
The tax man keeps taking
Staying strong emotionally
When your soul is breaking
And wondering when you're making love to your wife
Is it real or is she faking
And could it be that the most important things in life
Are getting lost or missed
When you're playing it safe
One of the lads
And scared to take a risk

[CHORUS]

It's so hard
It's so hard
Sometimes
And sometimes
It's so hard
It's so hard
When you're scared

Its hard sometimes trying to be a geezer
A good lad
With pressures to get on in life
And turn out like your dad
And getting a house, dog, kids, car
The whole kit and caboodle
And making out you can't cook
Apart from pot noodle
Treating your lady with sensitivity
Without the boys finding out
And keeping your feelings under wraps
So she'll never know what you're about
Trying to be different
But the same
And trying to follow the rules
Of the new game
Staring at the picture in the frame
An easier time, smiles shine
Now almost everything's changed.

[CHORUS]

Well sometimes its so hard
It's so hard
It's so hard
Yeah
When you're scared to
You're scared to
You're scared to
To take a risk
To take a risk
To take a risk