Lyrics: Looking At My Hands

I was looking at my hands
They were the hands of an old man
Somewhere there's a pensioner running round with wrists that are not his
Oh Lord and in the name of love
Return to me the contents of my gloves

I was looking at my face
Looming like the warlike planet deep in deepest space
With martian canal lines, a hint of polar ice
When did the planet go cold?
And when did it get so old?

But, that said, I like being thirty
All right, I like being in my thirties as I'm not quite thirty now
Oh yes, I like
Knowing what my mind is, and knowing that I'm right

I was looking at my clothes
Where did my days as a Dandy go?
I'm dressed as if I'm going to a Parent Teacher Barbecue
I used to cut a rug across the discotheques of Britain
I stood proudly bequiffed but now most of my quiff is missing


But then
I thought about my friends
I've got to say these days, they're all bloody GRATE
I used to hang around with a right bunch of arsey pillocks
I don't see them much nowadays but I can't say I miss them

Oh yes, I like being thirty
I like being in my thirties as I'm not quite thirty now
I feel deeply satisfied
Knowing what my mind is and knowing that I'm right

When I was 24
I was pretty sure that I knew the score
A snappy answer for each eventuality
I thought I had it sorted but actually
I didn't have a clue what to do with my life
I still don't but now I don't mind
I'm feeling good, I'm looking groovy
You dare to doubt it? So sue me

I was looking at my mind
Glistening with fitness from the fountain of my life
Still undergoing training in biography's gymnasium
Every day in every way
I'm becoming more applaudable than even I was yesterday

And that's why
It doesn't really matter if my hairline gets too high
It's only making space for enlargement of the brain
If my back aches it's 'cos I'm carrying
The equipment of a stallion

Oh yes, I like being thirty
I like being in my thirties as I'm not quite thirty now
I feel contented and free
In a mental landscape where I'm happy being me