I was surprised, I was happy for a day in 1975
I was puzzled by a dream, it stayed with me all day in 1995
My brother had confessed he was gay
it took the heat off me for a while
A#m(C#) G#m(B) (in some later verses)
He stood up with a sailor friend
And made it known upon my sister's wedding day
(not before chorus)
I got married in a rush to save a kid from being deported,
now she's in love
I was so touched, I was moved to kick the crutches
from my crippled friend
She was not impressed 'cause I cured her on the sabbath,
so I went to confess
When she saw the funny side, we introduced my child bride
to whisky and gin, to whisky and gin
The priest in the booth had a photographic memory for all he had heard
He took all of my sins and he wrote a pocket nocvel called
The State I Am In
So I gave myself to god, there was a pregnant pause before he said OK
Now I spend my days turning tables round in Marks and Spencers,
they don't seem to mind
I gave myself to sin
I gave myself to providence
And I've been there and back again
The state that I am in (x2)
Oh love of mine, could you condescend to help me
'cause I'm stupid and blind
Desperation is the devil's work, it is the folly of a boy's empty mind
Now I'm feeling dangerous, riding on city buses for a hobby is sad
Leave me to a living and
I promised that I'd entertain my crippled friend, my crippled friend
I gave myself to sin
I gave myself to providence
And I've been there and back again
The state that I am in (x4)
I gave myself to sin and I've been there and back again, oh yeah
Belle & Sebastian fans would be well advised to browse Paul
Mitchell's appealing site 'Sinister' at
www.ph.ed.ac.uk/~mitchell/sinister/
I was puzzled by a dream, it stayed with me all day in 1995
My brother had confessed he was gay
it took the heat off me for a while
A#m(C#) G#m(B) (in some later verses)
He stood up with a sailor friend
And made it known upon my sister's wedding day
(not before chorus)
I got married in a rush to save a kid from being deported,
now she's in love
I was so touched, I was moved to kick the crutches
from my crippled friend
She was not impressed 'cause I cured her on the sabbath,
so I went to confess
When she saw the funny side, we introduced my child bride
to whisky and gin, to whisky and gin
The priest in the booth had a photographic memory for all he had heard
He took all of my sins and he wrote a pocket nocvel called
The State I Am In
So I gave myself to god, there was a pregnant pause before he said OK
Now I spend my days turning tables round in Marks and Spencers,
they don't seem to mind
I gave myself to sin
I gave myself to providence
And I've been there and back again
The state that I am in (x2)
Oh love of mine, could you condescend to help me
'cause I'm stupid and blind
Desperation is the devil's work, it is the folly of a boy's empty mind
Now I'm feeling dangerous, riding on city buses for a hobby is sad
Leave me to a living and
I promised that I'd entertain my crippled friend, my crippled friend
I gave myself to sin
I gave myself to providence
And I've been there and back again
The state that I am in (x4)
I gave myself to sin and I've been there and back again, oh yeah
Belle & Sebastian fans would be well advised to browse Paul
Mitchell's appealing site 'Sinister' at
www.ph.ed.ac.uk/~mitchell/sinister/