Fifteen Years

(album: Levelling The Land - 1991)

I never was a violent man
Said the man in the bar with his head in his hands
He's trying his best to understand the cause of his dismay
But the years of gin have broken him
They've left him cold where he's fitted in
But it's too late now to turn around and find another way

And the laughs in the late night lock-in
Have faded away when he gets in
The girl from fifteen years ago
Has packed and gone away

That's never how it used to be
What happened to all that energy
You took one too many liberties, I'm tired of being afraid
So after the fight she took flight
Hiding swollen eyes and a wounded pride
The best years of her life denied, and sold for liquid shares

And the victims of their world, are advertised on posters
Just a beach and a pretty girl, if you just take this potion

There's another week till his cheque comes through
He's got a fiver left now to spend on food
But the doors of the bars are open, and he breaks another rule
Well he sits on a stool that bears his name
Hes got a favorite glass well its called the same
He's never been kept waiting, 'cause he pays a landlord's wage