Always at the foot of the photograph, that's me there
Snug as a thug in a mugshot pose, a foul-mouthed rogue
Owner of this corner and not much more
Still these days I'm better placed to get my just rewards
I'll pound out a tune and very soon
I'll have too much to say and a dead stupid name

Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
Calendars crumble I'm knee deep in numbers
I've turned twenty one, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again

Rubbing shoulders with the sheets till two
Looking at my watch and I'm half-past caring
In the lap of luxury it comes to mind
Is this headboard hard? Am I a lap behind?
But to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
Is the kind of fate I never contemplate
Lots of people would cry though none spring to mind

Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
Calendars crumble I'm knee deep in numbers
I've turned 21, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again

Know what it's like
To sigh at the sight of the first quarter of life?
Ever stopped to think and found out nothing was there?

They laugh to see such fun
I'm playing blind man's bluff all by myself
And they're chanting a line from a nursery rhyme
"Ba ba bleary eyes - have you any idea?"

Years of learning I must be a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
And the calendar's cluttered with days that are numbered
I've turned twenty, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Ought to be learning
Twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Feel like a veteran
Twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Calendar's cluttered
With days that are numbered
And I know what it's like
To sigh at the sight
Of the first quarter of life


Lyrics submitted by atadota, edited by Rut, popserv

Obscurity Knocks Lyrics as written by Paul Livingston John Douglas

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Obscurity Knocks song meanings
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4 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    "I must be a veteran of 'oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems.'" Somehow that really hits home for me... I think it's all about feeling like you're getting older and you haven't accomplished what you wanted... feeling like another face in the crowd, hence the title "Obscurity Knocks"

    sein514on October 22, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Everything.

    Truthusedtohurton January 13, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    You missed a line : snug as a thug in a mugshot pose, a foul-mouthed rogue.

    The song I think is about getting older and realizing your ideals are not exactly realized..The "quarter life crisis".

    Ruton September 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    I think the line "a foul-mouthed rogue" should be "above my cloak", depicting a graduation photo or sth, which brought back memories of youth.

    BTW, today was the release date of the song, as their debut single back in 1990. Check their official facebook entry here: goo.gl/bpFoM

    popservon February 05, 2013   Link

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