As It Is When It Was

I've been this way for so long now
You weren't exactly falling over yourself
When last I saw you
Well I always thought
We'd get along like a house on fire
Until you told me that I'd have to go
How can someone like you work that slow

Whatever you think of me
You listen hard and I will make you see
Whatever you think of me
You listen hard and I will make you see

I don't feel anything no more
This state of grace is consuming me
I'm not grown up and I am not a boy
I feel no pain and I feel no joy

Well I always thought

We'd get along like a house on fire
In those days when the sun was warm
I ran in the street where I was born

Whatever you think of me
You listen hard and I will make you see
Whatever you think of me
You listen hard and I will make you see

The streets are so empty at this time of night
I'd rather walk on my own than fight
In a world where I'd forgotten you
I found myself forgotten, too
That's the danger of believing books
And all the lies of those thieves and crooks
We sing intellectual songs of love
From a stolen pen to a velvet glove.