I was in a sleeping dream
When a policeman brought my mother home
By the window I didn't scream
I was too old for that

I was in a [bad word] dream
The pubs were closed, it was three o'clock
At the bottom of the street it seemed
There was a policeman lost in the fog

I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and Pasts  

You can cry for your lost childhood
Will you cry for our lost childhoods?
But remember how you hated it
And worse cause you couldn't state it?

I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and Pasts 

Look at the woman of thirty-nine
Look at the man of forty-nine
You can read their lousy lives
You can see their ugly face lines

They understand but they don't see it
They understand but they don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and Pasts

I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and Pasts