Birthday boy
can’t explain
Christmas Eve
He’s born again
On the line
a broken train
going nowhere
Endless rain
Birthday boy
so afraid
plays the machines
in the arcade
Oh baby do you remember
he’s been through all this before?
Spent the summer getting nowhere
Taking all of the blame for the city
Calculating from pain comes pity
Christmas Eve
a time of joy
if you believe
in birthday boy
This time around
it’s all a mistake
Is he deluded
or just a fake?
Taking all of the blame for the city
Calculating from pain comes pity
If you knew his name
would you feel the same?
Birthday boy
stands apart
as the drama’s
about to start
A quick betrayal
A speedy trial
As before
complete denial
Oh baby do you remember
he’s been through all this before?
Spent the summer getting nowhere
Taking all of the blame for the city
Calculating from pain comes pity
If you knew his name
would you feel the same?
2000. I imagined Jesus coming back to earth on the eve of his birthday and, like the young British student Stephen Lawrence, is murdered in a racist attack, dying for our sins all over again.