And now
That she's older
In the embers of romance
Pay two mortgages and leccy bills [bad word] and that
Nobody told her
That she'd ever reach the stage
Where her husband bores or her
Or she lies about her age
 [bad word] At least he's got a job for life
Get born, get school, get job, get car
Pay tax and find a wife
And on that note
The end [bad word] too soon
If you're not living on the edge
You take up too much room

I could've been a contender
Could've been a someone
Caught up in the rat race
And feeling like a no-one
Appearing in the papers
With the money and the girls
I could've been The Heavyweight Champion of the World

At school he used to dream about
Being [bad word] Lee
But the need for chops in the Manor top
Aint all that great you see
And so he gave up
On his black belt and first Dan
As near as he got to China
Was a week in Camber sands

I could've been a contender
Could've been a someone
Caught up in the rat race
And feeling like a no-one
Appearing in the papers
With the money and the girls
I could've been The Heavyweight Champion of the World
I could've been a contender
Could've been a someone
Caught up in the rat race
And feeling like a no-one
Appearing in the papers
With the money and the girls
I could've been The Heavyweight Champion of the World 

It's boring, so boring
It might put you to sleep
The same old routine repeats week after week
And you work harder, work harder
Cause you're told that you must
And you must earn a living
And you must earn a [bad word] 
Be like everybody else
Just be like everybody else
Just be like everybody else
Be like everybody else
Be like everybody else
Just be like everybody else
Just be like everybody else
Just be like everybody else

I could've been a contender
Could've been a someone
Caught up in the rat race
And feeling like a no-one
Appearing in the papers
With the money and the girls
I could've been The Heavyweight Champion of the World
I could've been a contender
Could've been a someone
Caught up in the rat race
And feeling like a no-one
Appearing in the papers
With the money and the girls
I could've been The Heavyweight Champion of the World