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)