Soap Opera

[Verse 1]
On the bus to school again
Still no money for a car
How long ago the day they said
"Teach and you'll go far"?

[Chorus]
But pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me
Pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me

[Verse 2]
Twenty years of teaching boys
Ink and think and incantation
Fifteen empty years with Mary
Talk and chalk and registration

[Chorus]
Pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me
Pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me

[Verse 3]
Things could have been different for us
If we could have had a child
It's far too long since Mary laughed
Far too long since Mary smiled

[Chorus]
And pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me
Pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me

[Bridge]
Only a hand upon your knee, child
I remember her grace and charm
Only a hand upon your knee, child
Once she had your grace and charm
There's no need to shout and scream, child
I did not mean any harm
There's no need to shout and scream, child
I did not mean any harm
No harm, no harm, no harm, no harm

[Verse 4]
"The filthy swine" the mother raved
As the detective filled the form
"Perverted, stinking and depraved
I'll make him wish he'd stayed unborn
I'll make him wish he's stayed unborn"

[Verse 5]
"A sorry story" said the judge
"Your punishment must be your shame
But it will be much different
If you ever do this thing again"

[Verse 5]
"A sorry story" said the judge
"Your punishment must be your shame
But it will be much different
If you ever do this thing again
Again, again, again"

[Verse 6]
One mistake, one slip only
Take the threads and start again
On your own now, twice as lonely
Twenty years of work in vain

[Refrain]
Take the threads and start again
Take the threads and start again

[Verse 7]
Postman bringing letters pauses as the door
"It's him, I read it in the papers
Should have got ten years or more"
Hands the letter over without a word or a smile

[Refrain]
"Thank God, the monster never got his hands upon my child
Thank God, the monster never got his hands upon my child"

[Verse 8]
"The committee regrets that your contract is cancelled
We think you should seek an appointment elsewhere
We shall, of course, have to put down on your record
The details of this unhappy affair

[Refrain]
Seek an appointment elsewhere, this unhappy affair
Seek an appointment elsewhere, this unhappy affair"

[Verse 9]
On the bus to work again
With the gang upon the site
Shift the bricks and mix the concrete
Maybe I can sleep tonight

[Chorus]
But pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me
Pretty little girl, pretty little girl, pretty little girl
Don't sit next to me

[Outro]
And it will be much different if you ever do this thing again
Yes, it will be much different if you ever do this thing again
Again, again, again, again