Even the most familiar face   Can disappear without a trace   Amidst a crowd of theatregoers   I had been waiting for a while   My stare mistaken for a smile   Till I found the person   No-one knows as well as I do   A hug hello and I'm beside you again      I know the lines to read between   And when you've stolen every scene   For good and all, the curtain closes   And though you mightn't win awards   The audience applauds      No-one knows as well as I do   The untold hours till I'm beside you again   But tomorrow when you wake   And you feel a little flat   I won't make the mistake   Of reminding you of that      The understudy understands   The patience it demands   We're enjoying what we'll just call champagne   If they could only act their age   But all the world's a stage they're going through      After the after party is over   And the last of the cast is removed from the sofa   Then, and only then, am I beside you again   Late at night on threadbare carpet   So in the cold, hard light of the supermarket   Please! There were grazes on my knees