[Verse 1] I’ve got a drink with a lemon wheel I’ve got a place by the door Someone is telling the same old joke I liked the first time before I watch the shoulders going up I watch the faces break Then send my little laugh along Half a second late [Chorus] Half a second late Here comes my smile It had to take the stairs again It might be here a while Save a little space Beside the birthday cake I’m coming, I’m coming Half a second late [Verse 2] A woman asks me what I do I tell her where I work She says her cousin knows a man Who knows a man there first We make a little ladder Out of people we don’t know I’m halfway up before I think To ask where I should go [Chorus] Half a second late Here comes my smile It had to take the stairs again It might be here a while Save a little space Beside the birthday cake I’m coming, I’m coming Half a second late [Bridge] In the bathroom The fan goes round I hold my hands Under the sound Somebody knocks “Are you all right?” I say, “One minute” And switch off the light [Final Chorus] Half a second late Here comes my smile You’re sitting on the bottom step You say you’ve been a while Move a little over Let the paper lantern shake We hear them laughing through the wall Half a second late [Outro] Half a second Half a second You don’t ask me to explain
