man next door came round one night

to ask me for a drink

i said i didn't anymore

he said, 'that's what you think'



a tendril curled around his leg

as he got up to leave

he said, 'a friend of yours was here

but we all call him steve'



clean steve

clean steve

they don't come any dirtier than me

better watch out all you space cats

clean steve is a mineral man



my cousin bruce came round to stay

the father of my son

he tore apart a stethoscope

and pointed at the sun



'there's tentacles between our worlds,'

he said, 'so i believe'

i said, 'the man next door's best friend

was making videos with clean steve'



you could have knocked him down with a feather



clean steve lent me a pound

in nineteen seventy-four

that was a lot of money then

i was extremely poor



we had a party three years later

clean steve wore a robe

he brought a new nick lowe cassette

and played it in the road



clean steve

clean steve

they don't come any dirtier than me

better watch out all you space cats

clean steve is a mineral man



i called up mark ellen

but he wasn't really in

instead i talked to his wife claire

about some gigs she'd seen



clean steve was outside the house

watching both his feet

we all had dinner with him once

he gave us lots to eat



there's some real people in the world

and some who are pretend

clean steve is making videos

with the man next door's best friend



he's good at playing frisbee

and his teeth are shining bright

i think he comes from liverhead

if all my facts are right



clean steve

clean steve

they don't come any dirtier than me

better watch out all you space cats

clean steve is a mineral man