Verse 1
For forty years the telephone rang,
Something leaking, something gone wrong,
“Can you come round?” — “Can you lend a hand?”
I’d grab my coat before too long.
There was always somebody waiting,
Always somewhere I had to be,
I never thought I’d miss the asking,
Till the day nobody needed me.
Chorus
The day nobody needed me,
The whole world carried on.
No doors to mend,
No fires to tend,
No reason to hurry along.
I watched the morning quietly,
With nowhere I had to be,
Funny how loud the silence gets
The day nobody needed me.
Verse 2
I made some tea at half past seven,
Read yesterday’s news again,
Watched a van pull up next door,
And nearly went to help the men.
I knew the answer to their problem,
Could see it clearly from my chair,
But another pair of hands was working,
And nobody knew I was there.
Chorus
The day nobody needed me,
The whole world carried on.
No doors to mend,
No fires to tend,
No reason to hurry along.
I watched the morning quietly,
With nowhere I had to be,
Funny how loud the silence gets
The day nobody needed me.
Verse 3
At lunchtime I found an old toolbox,
Scratched and heavy, dull with years,
Every mark had got a story,
Every handle held a career.
Then the phone lit up beside me,
And I smiled before I knew,
But it only said, “Your bill is ready.”
Funny what disappointment can do.
Bridge
Then somewhere around the evening
I walked outside alone,
No one calling,
No one asking,
No problem dragging me from home.
And for the first time in forever,
I heard the blackbird in the tree.
Perhaps the world still loved me
Even when it didn’t need me.
Final Chorus
The day nobody needed me,
The whole world carried on.
No doors to mend,
No fires to tend,
No reason to hurry along.
And maybe being wanted
Isn’t all that makes us free.
I found a little piece of myself
The day nobody needed me.
Lyrics Michael Forty
Voice Michael Forty & Friends