do you need the service

do you need to call me daily

do you have reasons for calling at all



is something on your mind

is something wrong---i get the feeling

that you're laughing at my quiet surprise



my silhouette is changing

as i'm aging by your window

and i focus on a light by your face



call me 'the operator'

making comments "he's so technical"

or "i've absolutely nothing to do"



recycle all my photographs

i'll leave a picture of the queen

and no one has to know i was there



me, i'm so ashamed

you're all connected to my number

and the conversation's only polite



i'll wear my old grey raincoat

just in case you're 'confidential'

make up stories like "the screen fades away"



today it's in a taxi

by the station, and it's raining

and i wonder how they all made it before





Gary Numan, "Do You Need The Service?", B-side of "Down In The Park" (1979