It wasn’t like this
When they first shared a kiss
Her heart aches it.
He tells her she’s weak
She’s a failure, a freak
– And she takes it.
He tells her to say
That all is ok
So she fakes it.
He shouts in her face
So that she knows her place
– And she takes it.
Now somebody’s said
There’s a bruise on her head
So she shakes it.
But she’s made him look bad
Now he’s angry and mad
– And she takes it.
She stumbles and slips
And she tumbles and trips
And she breaks it.
The doctor says here’s
Something strong for your tears
– And she takes it.
She doesn’t know how
She will live through this row
But she makes it.
She walks past a stall
With a card saying call
– And she takes it.
And sleeping inside
Is her strength and her pride
So she wakes it.
She calls and they say
That she won’t have to stay
They can offer a way
– And she takes it.
[The alternative, austerity, last verse:
But the number’s been cut
And the refuge is shut
She forsakes it
She rips up the card
She’s battered and scarred
Her life is too hard
So she takes it]
