Post office clerks put up signsSaying, 'Position Closed'And secretaries turn off typewritersAnd put on their coats
Janitors padlock the gatesFor security guards to patrolAnd bachelors phone up their friends for a drinkWhile the married ones turn on a chat show
And theyâll all be lonely tonightAnd lonely tomorrow
Gentlemen, time pleaseYou know we canât serve anymoreNow the traffic lights change to 'Stop'When thereâs nothing to go
And by five Oâclock everythingâs deadAnd every third car is a cabAnd ignorant people sleep in their bedsLike the doped white mice in the college lab
And nothing ever happensNothing happens at allThe needle returns to the start of the songAnd we all sing along like beforeAnd weâll all be lonely tonightAnd lonely tomorrow
Telephone exchanges clickWhile thereâs nobody thereThe Martians could land in the car parkAnd no one would care
Close-circuit cameras in department storesShoot the same video every dayAnd the stars of these films neither die nor get killedJust survive constant action replay
And nothing ever happensNothing happens at allThe needle returns to the start of the songAnd we all sing along like beforeAnd weâll all be lonely tonightAnd lonely tomorrow
And bill hoardings advertise productsThat nobody needsWhile angry from ManchesterWrites to complain about all the repeats on T.V.
And computer terminals report some gainsOn the values of copper and tinWhile American businessmen snap up Van GoghsFor the price of a hospital wing
And nothing ever happensNothing happens at allThe needle returns to the start of the songAnd we all sing along like before
And nothing ever happensNothing happens at allTheyâll burn down the synagogues at six oâclockAnd weâll all go along like beforeAnd weâll all be lonely tonightAnd lonely tomorrow