Hal

How’s a son supposed to be
The son they say he’s born to be
When I can’t even be that son
For hours at a go
These cuffs and ruffs just stifle me
And breath pours from me desperately
Is this the life that’s meant for me
This sewn-up, soulless show
But there’s a place I know
Where time stands still
It’s the pub I go
Where reckless, feckless hecklers
Sing this young man’s old soul home
How’s a prince supposed to be
This model monarch ceaselessly
When I can’t even hold that pose
Until the flashbulb blows
Those curtsies, bows and finery
Slip off me without dignity
The walls close in relentlessly
With no place left to go
But there’s a place I know
Where time stands still
It’s the pub I go
Where jobless slobs as mobsters rob
And reek and drink alone
And what’s this life supposed to be
If every choice and path I see
Is picked out, plushed, and preened for me
And no one dares say no
These yes-men press incessantly
And stress they know what’s best for me
They only wish success for me
Dear God, just let me go
There’s a place I know
Where time stands still
It’s the pub I go
Where flunkies, drunks, and junkies swear
And flail and fuck like monkeys
In my eyes, those guys are lucky
To have names nobody knows