Strangely Shaped by Fathers - Their Competence Lyrics

There are no drugs in this story
No broken bones or any straying hands
We never went to bed hungry
And the wolves were always kept far from our door
I didn't grow up on the streets
The car it always started
Rooms were always warm
The only fights were ever on Nintendo
We never doubted we were loved
What we doubted was their competence
In the one job that they didn't put first
If they couldn't show each other
What the f*ck could they show us?

A Sunday morning
A ringing phone
Stranger informs me
That dad ain't coming home
Rebelling body
Shaking hands and feet
Numbly I listen;
Ask them to repeat

Once again your dad is not around
Because their marriage finally unwound
And in the rubble of your parents
You try to smile through bleeding open wounds
But you're just another kid
Fending for yourself
F*cked up but far from f*cked
There were worse childhoods than mine
But mine was all I had

And what we doubted was their competence
In the one job they didn't put first
If they couldn't show each other
What the f*ck could they show us?

Three years pass by now
A phone it rings again
My best friend's wedding day
The day I am orphaned
Rebelling body
Shaking hands and feet
Numbly I listen
Ask them to repeat

Ten years after leaving 86
Teacher training in a freezing hall
They taught us how to spot the tell-tale signs
When you outsource care it's not called neglect
Except in legislation
Passed too late to safeguard me
When no-one's around
Cuz they're both f*cking around
It turns out the victim is you