Did She Scare All Your Friends Away

And Anna was a beauty in her youth
And she had long black hair and looked a lot more like you than you think you do
And I knew her mother well
And her lead light eyes were lovely coal-smoke blue as well
But I knew her father, too
And I viewed life like a bedroom through a keyhole on a door
While he saw it like a pantry through a window on a wall
We never got on well, were never friends at all
And I was just the barnacle that clung on through it all
He was a small time politician, a teleprompter's charge
Trying to bury a misdeed from way back when and so he'd lined
All of the hacks up on the grass
Called them gentlemen and friends
And gave his dog whistle a blast
And every face there was a mask
And what is anybody doing who ain't pretending?
What is anybody doing?
Why would he frighten off his friends
With something useless as the truth?
Yeah, Anna was a beauty in her youth

And hey, did she scare all of your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she frighten all your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she scare all of your... all your friends away?

And Anna was a beauty in her youth
She had some fine boys on her trail, like the tailor's son
Who scaled the ranks of suits
And all he touched turned into loot but I... I knew his kind very well
And when the doric columns cracked, it tore the shirt right off his back
So they sold him down the river before pocketing the cash
He weren't so lucky then
But that didn't bother Anna - she had boys on tap
And Jack was a pro bono defence lawyer at a firm called Young and Black
He'd been made a junior partner and shown how to work a rort
Making charitable donations to Salvation Army Corps
And Veterans Without Wheelchairs and the Widows of the Wars
He was a Liberating Angel with a clothes peg on his nose
But he swooped a little low one time and crashed into some locals
Who beat seven shades of shame through him
Then levied heavy taxes of their own and said necessity is nine tenths of the surgery
He owed his face his health
And I watch him very carefully
'Cause this is where the equal distribution of his wealth is going to
Yeah, Anna was a beauty in her youth

And hey, did she scare all of your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she frighten all your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she scare all of your... all your friends away?

And Anna was a beauty in her youth
And it was at the garden party when we first were introduced
By her father who'd retired into a well of sweet vermouth
But I knew what was coming next
While he'd been winning plaudits for his ornithology
I'd been selling Winnebagos to less heeled retirees
It had not been going well
I moved RV's on hire purchase when I knew I should have leased
And my investors all went bankrupt so I couldn't resupply
And I could not meet repayments even if demand increased
I wished they'd pay me what they owed me
Then all fuck off like good pensioners and die
And have a holiday at least
Then he said "money won't bring happiness" - I very nearly cried
But he didn't venture further - no one saying that ever tries
I took a hard slug on my drink and Anna watched me while I melted
Like an ice cube in the desert of her shade
And if she smiled at you, there'd be nothing you wouldn't do
Cause women made like Anna are born coasting on the admiration
Which Anna made the most of - she turned one against the other
All friends at one time or other, yet they set upon themselves
And cleared a way for me to her
Yeah, but you and I were happy then, and happy's no defence
And if it's any consolation, I expected someone else
And that would be her masterstroke
And I am standing here today as proof
Yeah, Anna was a beauty in her youth

But hey, did she scare all of your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she frighten all your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she scare all of your... all your friends away?
And hey, did she frighten all your... all your friends away?