Here by the sea and sand
Nothing ever goes as planned.
I just couldn't face going home.
It was such a drag on my own.
They finally threw me out.
My mother got drunk on stout.
My dad couldn't stand on two feet
As he lectured about morality.
The girl I love is a perfect dresser,
Wears every fashion, gets it to the tee.
Heavens above, I've got to match her,
I know just how she wants her man to be.
Leave it to me.
My jacket's gonna be cut slim and checked
Maybe a touch of seersucker and an open neck
I ride a GS scooter with my hair cut neat
I wear my war-time coat in the wind and sleet.
I see her dancing across the ballroom,
UV light making starshine on her smile.
I am the face, she has to know me.
I'm dressed up better than anyone within a mile.
So how come the other tickets look much better?
Without a penny to spend, they dress to the letter.
How come the girls come on oh, so cool?
Yet, when you meet 'em, every one's a fool.
Come sleep on the beach,
Keep within my reach.
I'm feeling so high with you here,
I just want to die with you near.
I'm wet and I'm cold,
But thank God I ain't old.
Why didn't I say what I mean?
I should have split home at fifteen.
There's a story that the grass is so green.
What did I see?
Where have I been?
Nothing is planned by the sea and the sand.
I'm the face if you want it.
I'm the face if you want it, babe.
I'm the face if you want it.
I'm the face if you want it, babe.
I'm the face if you want it.
I'm the face if you want it.
I'm the face if you want it.
There are men high up there fishing.
Haven't seen quite enough of the world.
I ain't seen a sign of my hero
And I'm still diving down for pearls.
Oh, let me flow into the ocean,
Let me get back to the sea,
Let me be stormy and let me be calm,
Let the tide in
And set me free.
I'm flowing under bridges
Then flying through the sky,
I'm travelling down cold metal
Just a tear in a baby's eye.
Let me flow into the ocean, etc.
I am not the actor.
This can't be the scene.
But I am in the water
As far as i can see.
I'm remembering distant memories,
Recalling other names,
Rippling over canyons,
I'm boiling in the train,
Let me flow into the ocean, etc.
A beach is a place where a man can feel
He's the only soul in the world that's real.
But I see a face coming through the haze
I remember him from those crazy days.
Ain't you the guy who used to set the paces
Riding up in front of a hundred faces?
I don't suppose you would remember me
But I used to follow you back in '63.
I got a good job and I'm newly born
You should see me dressed up in my uniform
I work in a hotel all gilt and flash.
Remember the gaff where the doors we smashed?
Bell Boy! I gotta get running now.
Bell Boy! Keep my lip buttoned down.
Bell Boy! Carry the bloody baggage out.
Bell Boy! Always running at someone's heel.
You know how I feel, always running at someone's heel.
Some nights I still sleep on the beach.
Remember when stars seemed in reach.
Then I wander in early to work.
Spend the day lickin' boots for my perks.
A beach is a place where a man can feel
He's the only soul in the world that's real.
But I see a face coing through the haze
I remember him from those crazy days.
People often change
But when I look in your eyes
You could learn a lot from a life like mine.
The secret to me, it ain't flown like a flag.
I carry it behind this bleedin' little badge
What says:
Bell Boy! etc.