Constantly Overheard by Peter Hammill Lyrics

You can repeat it as often as you like
The story won't ring true
You've been inventing a cocktail of confections
No-one believes but you
Contradictory fictions together form a track:
Once the words have been spoken they're out
And you can't take them back

Opinions you've ventured adrift upon the wind
No council is kept your own
As quiet as you whisper your thoughts can't be preserved
For one person's ears alone
There's always an eavesdropping multitude in on your words
You always were
Overheard

Nothing's secret now
Nothing's safe and sound
Nothing's private

You didn't mean it to come out as it did
But the narrative still escaped
Benign indiscretions and confidences spilled
They've got them all down on tape
And sooner or later they'll hold you to account
I hear you've been spouting
All kinds of poppycock
To any prepared to hear
Better be careful
Don't speak so loud or so clear

Remember whatever you say can't be unsaid
Not once it's tripped off the tongue
A flippant aside might in later light be taken
As proof of a smoking gun
And so here's a maxim for life you'd do well to observe -
Choose your words
As if you were constantly overheard