Lyrics of 'The Chain Smoker' by Michelle Shocked

He sits on the front porch
To watch the sun go down
A pile of cigarette butts
Gathering on the ground
He's been a chain smoker sixty years
Both his fingers are stained and brown
But what the hell, you only die once

Then he lights up a cigarette
Remembers the Great War
Except that now he can't remember
What they were dying for
It was the one to end 'em all
But he knew there'd be more
And then he lit up another cigarette

And in the glow of the match
He recalled his wedding day
And he smiles as he thinks about
The things she used to say
She was his reason for living
But he went on anyway
With his memories and a pack of cigarettes

He's a chain smoker
Toking on the best years of his life
And tomorrow don't hold nothing
That he ain't already seen
And while the habit just might be killing him
At least, that's what the surgeon general warns
These words of encouragement
Are the last thing that he needs

Then he lights up a cigarette
Thinking back to what the doctor said
At the rate he is going
In a month he will be dead
And so he lights up another
As an old memory comes to his head
And as the sun goes down
He puts out his last cigarette