We were blindsided and caught off guard Weren’t watching as he fell apart And all the well-wishers and businessmen Can’t put him back together again Told there’s no way back for him now Thought he had everything all figured out We tried to help and retrace his steps But he left no forwarding address We were blindsided and caught off guard Weren’t watching as he fell apart And all the well-wishers and businessmen Can’t put him back together again And someone says it might help to talk it out But it’s too late for me to learn a new way now This is all that we know This is all that we know And they say that everyone’s as scared as me But I don’t know any way else to be This is all that we know This is all that we know We were blindsided and caught off guard Didn’t see the signs there from the start And so well-wishers and family friends Can someone put him back together again?

Verse: Alarm goes off always the same Crash headfirst into today Give it time it’s right in front of you How long until it all falls through? Pre-Chorus: I just need to shave my face Make a quick ‘to-do’ list, start lifting weights Tell myself that I'm still in control Then there's one hundred indecisions I used to feel, I used to be so driven And my friend says "it's the human condition" But I'm not convinced at all Chorus: You know you could still be anything And that’s exactly why you’re still nothing If only things were a little bit worse for you You’re not up against a wall You’re so unexceptional Someone else just wants it more And maybe you could compete with them But is it worth the time it'd take to try and figure it out? Verse: Time to go for it now I suppose But first just one more episode It’s out of my hands, it’ll be over soon I’m held together by a skeleton crew Pre-Chorus: Stalling through days and filling out forms Please stand clear of the closing doors Worry your friends are gonna do more You can't commit to anything You're a write off now, you're set in stone A shaggy dog story with no resolve Should know that it's not personal You were just a trial run Chorus: You know you could still be anything And that’s exactly why you’re still nothing If only things weren't as good as they are for you You’re not up against a wall You’re not what they’re looking for You're just so predictable And sure you could be so much more But are you worth the time it’ll take for them to figure it out? Outro: (Guess I’m going up in flames) It doesn't have to go this way (Guess I’m going up in flames) I’m just one bad day away (Guess I’m going up in flames) I'm in over my head again (Guess I’m going up in flames) Could've been more, it's such a shame (They'll say what they always say) It's okay to have a bad day (They’ll say what they always say) You've gone and thrown it all away (I’ve run out of things to blame) And it’s too late for me to do anything else (So I guess I’m going up in flames) And it was always gonna end this way

I can feel a burnout coming It’s already begun And I’m about to hear the same old words from everyone It’s always a full turnout And now I’m getting sucked in Then I found out why I’ve been spread so thin I can’t be everything Been sleeping around On friends’ bedroom floors Down and out Full of empty promises Been round the houses Back to my old ways Checked out Better write off today Laissez-faire You’ve been bought and paid Really thought you wanted this I can feel a burnout coming It’s already begun And I’m about to hear the same old words from everyone It’s always a full turnout And now I’m getting sucked in But I’ve found out on my day of reckoning I can’t be everything Always second guessed by someone Ready to say ‘I told you so’ ‘And here’s what I would’ve done’ As they look down their nose Living in days by numbers Tagging along with ‘so-and-so’ Swear I’m sorting it all out Have-a-go heroes They’re back Beating up the straw man Strong-armed Remember when you made plans Always letting someone else down And stirring up trouble I’m a deadbeat wunderkind I can feel a burnout coming It’s already begun And I’m about to hear the same old words from everyone It’s always a full turnout And I’m getting sucked in Then I found out why I’ve been spread so thin I can’t be everything Should’ve found my calling by now What if it never comes? When I crash out I know I’m gonna Hear the same words from everyone Hit the ground, better start running Till I can’t hear a thing And this time I’m going all in I’ve found that I can’t be everything Help yourself I'm on your side Don't you know how hard I've tried? Sell yourself This is your life Your living a lie Should've gone for it while I had the chance? Should spend more time with Mum and Dad Have I had the best days that I'll ever have? Don't you know you're putting us all through hell? They've come to bring you out of your shell Are you a danger to yourself? What are you scared of today? You're alive Don’t know why you’re still waiting For a sign This was your life

My internal monologue’s like a TV show And I’m it’s main protagonist The whole thing filmed all in one take All with one camera from my point of view I like to think all my mistakes and bad days Are just subplots and padding leading to The showrunner’s true intended vision They’re just negotiating that bigger budget for next season And this show must have a big writing team New one each episode, I reckon 7 at least Who decide on a whim what my mood will be And they have no idea what they’re doing with me There’s no sense of consistency It’s like I’m a new character every day Think they stole scripts meant for someone else Gave them to me and then crossed out the names There’s the one who thinks that he’ll transcend The one who can’t get out of bed The one who thinks he can't trust his friends The one who wants it all to end The one who says ‘hey this is all I know’ The one who wants to be alone Be great if that main overarching story could get going at some point Why the hell do they keep renewing this? Must be the low budget demands (I don’t get out much) Feel like I’d have been a better supporting character Be whatever someone else’s story needs me to be Guess my show’s a classic British Sitcom With cynical characters full of resentment Doomed to fail without redemption And I don't know how to shake this typecast off I want a plot twist I want a character arc I want a deus ex machina I want an end of season payoff I want the deleted scenes I want the scenes they didn't film I want a new director I want the next episode

Can't walk it off Can't smoke it out Do you believe me when I say? I'm more over you than I've ever been now Is there more to you than meets the eye? A disregard for human life Coz I’m still hiding in plain sight And it’s only making it worse Know I'm in a state but my mind’s changing And when it does yours is gonna change too Then you’ll wake up in the bed you’re making And find that I’ve found someone new Hope I look back a few years from now And wonder what I ever saw in you So I’ll get out of your hair But pretty soon you’ll be wishing I was still there Eventually you’ll find someone taller Who can sweep you off of your feet And he’ll make you feel safe when he walks you home Safer than when you're walking home with me Radio silence haven’t seen you in days What’s the worst thing that I can say? Know how this ends but I can’t look away I'll always go back to you Think I left it too late but my mind’s changing And when it does yours is gonna change too Then you’ll wake up in the bed you’re making And find that I’ve found someone new Hope I look back a few years from now And wonder how I ever fell for you So now that I'm out of your hair Are you wishing that I was still there? Well maybe you've pushed me away for good And maybe I'm finally over you This time I'm gonna up and leave Have you changed your mind about me? I won't crack or fall apart I'll be there no questions asked Well I'm fooling no one, everyone can see That I'm still where you last left me I wish you'd stayed here but my mind’s changing And when it does yours is gonna change too Then you’ll wake up in the bed you're making To find that I've found someone who can't replace you Know I'll look back ten years from now And wonder why I still think about you Clean break, there's nothing to save You'll never see my face Everything I said is still on repeat Saw things that you were never gonna see And now that I'm out of your hair Do you even notice that I'm not there?

Verse: It’s not gonna end any different tonight If you spend it pinned to the wall But we're live, and it'd be social suicide And someone's always quicker on the draw No second take if you forget your lines If you do say anything at all But if you’re waiting on the stars to align Then you’re fighting for a lost cause Pre-Chorus: Well at least I can say that I went out last night So everyone can stop worrying about me Having fun with your friends like you’re all supposed to The drink’s overpriced and it’s too loud to talk to The people around on the light up floor Know I’ll never be one of them anyway Good thing there are ways to drown my denial To build myself up and fall flat on my face Chorus: Should I lower my expectations? Am I coming on too strong? Can they smell the desperation on me? I feel the panic coming on It’s not about getting off with the nearest stranger Or about me finding my future bride I just want to feel normal in this place for once here For something worthwhile to come out of tonight Verse: Have a problem with breaking character When they say 'his arms and legs are thin’ It feels like the end of everything I've heard voices die when I get to speak Crickets chirping and tumbleweed Should I accept it’s how I’ll always be Or is this something you can grow out of? Pre-Chorus: No I'm not Prince Hamlet, wasn't meant to be I'm someone with even less agency A supporting player, glad to be of use Get the odd line, start a scene or two Right now you act like you're corinthians But you’ll find a way to screw up soon And yeah I’m the joke that you’re laughing at But you’re the guise I see straight through Chorus: Should I lower my expectations? Am I coming on too strong? Can they smell the desperation on me? Am I doing everything wrong? It’s not about getting off with the nearest stranger Or about me finding my future bride I just want to feel normal in this place for once here To walk home, not feel dead inside Outro: Never liked smoke and mirrors and flashing bright lights That’s why they always go for some other guy Still trying to lose myself and live for once Do what everyone else my age is doing right Should I lower my expectations? Am I coming on too strong? Can they smell the desperation on me? Am I doing everything wrong? It’s not about getting off with the nearest stranger Or about me finding my future bride I just want to feel normal in this place for once here For something worthwhile to come out of tonight No I don’t feel anything for her now And it would have never happened anyway And I can’t go back to the last checkpoint So I’ll try my best to start over again

Don’t like what I find out about myself In an empty room Nothing for you to hide behind now I know I should call home more I should be a better son I’m only trying to make my own way She was nothing losing sleep over Yeah so you told yourself No one to hold you in their arms now It's where I see the damage I do Will I learn from my mistakes? These thoughts aren’t going anywhere Does it remind you of the burden you are When you see grey in your mother’s hair? Is it a second generation thing? Will I betray where I’ve come from to Settle down join the middle class? Will I become everything I hate now? Sometimes I can’t even pretend to see If the world’s on my shoulders or at my feet But I won’t open up to anyone Think they're seeing the damage I do They’re catching onto me Can you still stand the sight of me now? This masquerade used to comfort me But now he’s become one more enemy And she says she doesn’t see me that way Is there anyway we could go back to your place? Maybe I should push them all away now Sever these ties see how that works out Was this always how it was gonna end up? Bury myself in the hole that I’ve dug I’m pretentious, contentious I talk too much Insecure and gutless I don’t talk enough Care about what they all think I try too hard No I’m apathetic I don’t try hard enough I’m cold I'm distant I don’t open up I’m desperate and needy I need to be loved I’m so sycophantic I’m way too much I pander, I stutter I’m never enough Could you cover me now? Could you cover me now? Could you cover me now? Could you cover me now? (Put me on airplane mode) Could you cover me now? (Go incognito) Could you cover me now? (And make me numb) Could you cover me now? (Don’t let in anyone)

Verse: One thing always leads to another Whenever I assume you're looking my way Thought I was above this They told me it was a phase Let me be your Jay Gatz Let me build myself around you Because I'd rearrange my world to Increase the chance of seeing you She don't taste like you would've done And I know I've set the bar too high But I go straight back to square one Whenever you are walking by And I know we haven't talked for months But I think that's made it worse somehow Because you're still the manic pixie dream girl That I'll never figure out Bridge: Told myself I'd stop building things up in my head Then she laughed and remembered something that I'd said And I thought "hey, there could be something here" But that moment never meant a thing It's over before it begins It was all wishful thinking It feels like everyone's watching I try not to be bitter But now all I can see Are lovers holding hands and laughing Making out in front of me Refrain: And they're perfect for eachother Is that supposed to make it better? And they're perfect for eachother And I'm pretty sure that makes it worse Outro: This was a blip, a wake up call But I've learned nothing new I'll sing this song about someone else Put them on my pedestal False alarm, it felt so real But now I know the truth Romantic tropes are tedious Until they come for you

Verse: Thought I’d get some inspiration here Thought I could use a change of scene Observe some conversations here Need someone watching me This is how so many greats did it And I know coz I just looked it up This is gonna make all the difference I'm drinking from a half-full cup Chorus: It’s only a matter of time now Something will come to me soon Then I’ll encapsulate, I’ll have so much to say I’ve got so much to prove This time I’ll stay focused, write my magnum opus I'll have a plan once more And so I'm writing in coffee shops, to undo my writer's block How did I ever live before? Verse: Someone crunch the numbers Work out how much I could’ve saved Gone through half a dozen loyalty cards I’m here nearly every day Was fun at first but the novelty Wore off a long time ago I just come here out of habit now I can’t stand to be alone Chorus: Think the caffeine’s making me doubt myself Just hope that something comes to me soon And I know they say to follow your instincts But I still need to be approved Don’t mean to get existential And I know I don’t have to stay All I know is that I’m getting older Can’t have another blank page today Can't get in the zone, have no self-control There's too many distractions here Thought I was so clever, I'm more lost than ever now Done absolutely nothing this year I thought this was my calling But now I’m not so sure I've been writing in coffee shops, but I've still got writer's block How did I ever do this before? Outro: He died of unfulfillment Slumped over a makeshift desk Poisoned by his hair gel Choked on his turtleneck So they looked at what he’d written What he’d left behind for the world It was the most genius first draft of An opening first sentence

Sold out by turncoats, they scapegoated me They picked the wrong side of history Won’t pull my punches, got a one track mind I’m out to skin someone alive I'm a pariah, a gun for hire I'm smashing windows in I want you dead now, off with your heads now Throwing the kitchen sink I’m a pariah, and I’m a liar I’m under your skin I came out to pick a fight Dragging them all down with me tonight They’re so suburban with nothing to lose What’s the worst thing I can say to you? An itch to scratch, a rat to drown A joke I’ll run into the ground And I'll feel nothing I’m a pariah, a getaway driver And if you shoot the king you better kill the king I’m in your head now, bet you want me dead now Shouldn’t have let me in I’m a viper, time to pay the piper I’m coming for everything Been biding my time, something to prove Last night I dreamed I strangled you What happened to that sweet young boy? I threw him onto the tracks Now there’s this stranger in his place And there’s no turning back Cut his nose to save your face Don’t show them any remorse Taking them out in a blaze of glory But I don’t know what I’m doing it for Burn the bridges, bring them all down Bet you’re proud of yourself now You just blew your final chance I’m a victim of circumstance Help me out, I'm just in a rut I won’t stop until you all hate my guts They’ve come for you so open up I’m not disgusted with myself enough

Verse: Never thought I'd get the opportunity To see my life flash before me in a mushroom cloud Negotiations have broken down And we've passed the point of no return now Chorus: At least we're not the only ones At least we took down everyone with us Was just trying to change my life's trajectory And now no one else will laugh at me At least it was mutually assured Both sides of my brain knew what they signed up for A factory reset's essential sometimes There'll be no half measures and diplomats this time Verse: Never thought I'd get the opportunity To see my life flash before me in a mushroom cloud The view from the ground's a cathartic sight Guess you just have to be here at the time Chorus: At least we're not the only ones They say there's tens of millions like us At least it was all well informed Everyone's gonna get what they were asking for Is it really a big deal anyway? They're rebooting everything else these days Just taking things back to the drawing board Going back to basics, not feeling anymore Bridge: They’re tiptoeing round you and speaking in code So sit back now and enjoy the show A cautionary tale that’s been years in the making But nobody cared until the walls were caving in Am I breaking down or is this an epiphany? All I know is it’s taking all care from me And I just want you all to know I fought it with every bone Outro: Can you see anything worth saving? Can you see anything worth saving? (My love) Can you see anything worth saving? (Worth saving, worth saving) Can you see anything worth saving? (Anyone) Didn't think so

Verse: She says they came from India Then some escaped from their aviary Or maybe someone else released them Now you can find them nesting in cities They don’t migrate in winter Don’t leave when things get tough Somehow they made a home in London Said one time she saw a whole flock Years go by, and temperatures rise But they're not afraid of change We're going under, they're growing in numbers And they're all here to stay We're on thin ice, been stood at the sides But it's time for me to join the fray We're trying, we're driven, this world's not a given Won't let it go up in flames Chorus: We kid ourselves about what we want It’s where all our problems are coming from Hide it in boxes what we really love We’re dancing where no one else sees us Verse: Now the naysayers are calling for culls Say they’re a danger to our way of life They’re feral and there’s too many of them Got a licence to shoot on sight It’s so easy to be the contrarian Shame people who care for anything It’s harder to be someone who knows who they are But they’re the ones worth remembering Chorus: We kid ourselves about what we want It’s where all our problems are coming from Hide it in boxes what we really love We’re dancing where no one else sees us Try to be what we think they want Our friends, our parents, the people we love Don’t be like the others, just open up We’ll dance where no one can see us Bridge: You think no one’s gonna wanna know you And that they won't like what they'll find And I’m guilty of this as well I just can't go in blind You’re not like everyone else You’re not standoffish and you’re not cold You can’t fake it so don’t backtrack now Don’t act like you don’t care, let it show Chorus: We kid ourselves about what we want It’s where all our problems are coming from Hide it in boxes what we really love We’re dancing where no one else sees us We’re always worried that we’ll scare them off Gotta earn it for us to open up It’s a feeling I thought that I’d forgot But we’re dancing where no one can see us

Verse: Teenage nihilism has worn of now So how am I supposed to pass the time? My impressions are fooling no one Still can’t read a room to save my life Wanna make some change to the status quo But I guess it’s better the hell you know How can I follow through with anything that I say? When we’ve all still got rent to pay Pre-Chorus 1: Get out your head now man Am I getting through to anyone now? You’ve let things get away from you man I don’t think you understand Pre-Chorus 2: Too long didn’t read, this is all lost on me Just give me the basic exposition You just need more confidence Gotta get better at making decisions Chorus: You’ve brought it all on yourself You can’t blame anyone else You had such a good start You don’t know how lucky you are Help me I’m freaking out You don’t know what you’re talking about And now I’m drowning in my own irony Can anything be salvaged from me? Verse: Think I jumped the shark a while ago A cartoon of whatever I used to be And all my fair friends and enemies Are crashing round my head for free Thought for once I’d made some progress today Then I looked at what Bowie was doing at my age It was inspiring at first, but then I read ahead And pretty soon it’s gonna get depressing instead Pre-Chorus 1: You’ve made your bed now man Has the hope been beaten out? There’s no home here for you now I still don’t think you understand Pre-Chorus: Take a walk, get a job, take a crack at it You’ve gotta learn how to commit No drive and work ethic, that’s all this is And everyone’s patience is running out Chorus: Calm down it’s all just a phase I went through the same at your age You should get out your own head And try living in mine instead You’re going half in half out You’re letting everyone down I try so hard to people please Do you think you can help me? Outro: I’m tunnel visioning everything And telegraphing all my moves Do I have any say here? Are we made by focus group? The gun’s still hanging on the wall This time I hope that I don’t crack Always end up overthinking it I’m an intromaniac

And so you think that things are moving too slow And your days are bottle episodes Still haven’t learned how to live alone Can’t grow into or out of this And now you’re looking at the past with rose glasses on Trying to figure out where you went wrong Are you hoping that things will come together for once? Against all odds and expectations But maybe this time You’ll get this hour right This is what it means to be alive Between the best and worst of times And I know it’s not much to get behind But it’s the only one we have And you don’t have to have it all figured out They say it’s okay to be a mess right now I know you’re scared if you fall you won’t make a sound You’ve got so much to prove But maybe this time I’ll get this hour right It’s in when you don’t wanna pick up the phone It’s in when you’re lying in bed alone When you’ve got nothing left to give Don’t know why we do this But maybe I’ll get it right this time And maybe I won’t waste an hour this time And maybe I can open up this time It’s gotta be worth one more try Another chance to get it right I’ve got this one in my sight One day at a time One hour at a time So maybe this time I’ll get this hour right