They gave me doses of dioxide   Started coughing constantly   Nursed inside my wounded pride    Poisoned arrow in my knee   Then they stood around my bed   Said I was getting on famously   A faceless man in a TV van   Reprogrammed my naivety   I met you sparring in a corner   And you spat right in my face   People say it looks like tears   Because they'll have seen the trace   And they take it as their job of work   To put me right back in my place   And I pretend that I wanna be   A contender in the human race      Now when you hit me   I don't cry   The only thing that remains for me   Is to learn how I can say goodbye   Cos I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival   I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival   I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival      You know I thought that this was mist   But now I guess it is pollution   Caused by an economy of half-truths   And the resulting confusion   You sign a form the day you're born   That commits you to collusion   With society's special standards   And its optical illusions   Someone says you're still alive   Gives you great expectations   But now you know you're dead inside   Cos you feel no shock vibrations   Now you must control yourself   You can always cheat at patience   Soon I'll be right in the dog house   Food for FBI alsations      Now when you hit me   I don't cry   The only thing that remains for me   Is to learn how I can say goodbye   Cos I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival   I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival   I'm ready, steady, dead on arrival   Dead on arrival