(Verse 1) How well you seem to cope Oh, what a lavish, tasteless joke And oh, the guests are so impressed By how we mimic being blessed If I were honest heaven forbid I’d say I loathe the life I live but such remarks would spoil the room so civility resumes (Pre-Chorus) So I’ll be charming, I’ll be brief And never mention this quiet grief (Chorus) Under duress of happiness I play along, I acquiesce Performing joy with tenderness A well-rehearsed untruthfulness And if I falter, I digress Into some joke, or mild excess To keep intact this carefulness This quiet fraud of happiness (Verse 2) And if, one night, I should confess Not everything is picturesque You’ll tilt your head, amused, perplexed Then gently change the subject next As though discomfort were impolite A breach of tone, a social slight And I, of course, will quickly dress The moment back in cheerfulness (Bridge) If I look troubled, don’t insist On parsing what the trouble is Let such things linger, undefined Call it decorum; spare the mind Soft, agreeable hypocrisies, Each phrase a small diplomacy We deal in hints and half-confess, Then praise ourselves for tactfulness (Pre-Chorus) So I’ll be charming, I’ll be brief And never mention this quiet grief (Final Chorus) Under duress of happiness I soften every sharp distress Repackage it as harmlessness And pass it off as tenderness And all the while, I must suppress The urge to fail this little test Of being bright and effortless Under duress of happiness [outro] I’ve no heart, sweetheart, to protest I’ve no heart, sweetheart, to protest I’ve no heart, sweetheart, to protest I’ve no heart, sweetheart, to protest I’ve no heart, sweetheart, to protest I’ve no heart, sweetheart, to protest
