I could be the driver in an articulated lorry   I could be a poet, I wouldn't need to worry   I could be the teacher in a classroom full of scholars   I could be the sergeant in a squadron full of wallahs      What a waste! What a waste!   What a waste! What a waste!      Because I tried to play the fool in a six-piece band   First-night nerves every one-night stand   I should be glad to be so inclined   What a waste! What a waste!   But the world don't mind      I could be a lawyer with stratagems and muses   I could be a doctor with poultices and bruises   I could be a writer with a growing reputation   I could be the ticket-man at Fulham Broadway station      What a waste! What a waste!   What a waste! What a waste!      Because I tried to play the fool in a six-piece band   First-night nerves every one-night stand   I should be glad to be so inclined   What a waste! What a waste!   But the world don't mind      I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution   I could be an inmate in a long-term institution   I could lead to wide extremes, I could do or die   I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch them gullify      What a waste! What a waste!   What a waste! What a waste!      Because I tried to play the fool in a six-piece band   First-night nerves every one-night stand   I should be glad to be so inclined   What a waste! What a waste!   But the world don't mind      Chose to play the fool in a six-piece band   First-night nerves every one-night stand   I should be glad to be so inclined   What a waste! What a waste!   But the world don't mind   What a waste! What a waste!   But the world don't mind      Chose to play the fool in a six-piece band   First-night nerves every one-night stand   I should be glad to be so inclined   What a waste! What a waste!   But the world don't mind