Mont Blanc

I know I planted those seeds down too deep

They'll die and never see the Sun

My fault for that one

I was a city boy before

No excuses anymore

I'll try to learn and to keep us fed

Shed a tear for the books I should have read

And I'd seen all the warning signs

On the TV, in the Times

But I had you to hold at night

And so it took me by surprise

We had so many things back then

I had a silver Mont Blanc pen

I'd write for hours about nothing

That makes any difference now

And I used to worry what clothes I had on

The school recitals and the manicured lawns

And I had a laundry-list of people

I could count on if it all went wrong

And then the bomb

Now I take precautions for my peace of mind

I don't know what difference it might make

To hang on any longer

But I cut the tree across the drive

Spend the daylight hours inside

Trying to make the place look empty

So as no-one comes around

I thought I saw them again last night

Those same distant headlights

Sweeping back and forth across

The empty shells of the summer homes

And if the bastards ever come

Promise me you'll take the kids and run

I may be weak and I may be frail

But I can throw them off your trail

And I used to worry what clothes I had on

The school recitals and the manicured lawns

And I had a laundry-list of people

I could count on if it all went wrong

And then the bomb

Shed a tear for the books I should have read