Temporary Beauty
Graham Parker
You have to do your best to come up to par,
from straight off the production line like a car,
Till everything you put on is a put-on,
and you don't know who's face you're gazing upon
Could be anyone you're sending out there tonight,
is it any wonder all the lights are too bright?
And you need temporary beauty,
and hope to God that it doesn't rain
You need temporary beauty,
even though it might be love in vain
The world is full of little people like you
They have to read a book to learn what to do
They hang around in second hand stores for clothes
And every kind of pressures steps on their toes
Love doesn't fall out of a magazine
You mustn't always believe what you see
Ah-ah-ah temporary beauty, ah-ah-ah temporary beauty,
Ah-ah-ah temporary beauty
You might be the sweetest little girl in your heart
But still the world ignores that and tears you apart
You think of the parties you'll never attend
You dream of someone who's more than a friend
Love doesn't jump out of a magazine
You mustn't always believe what you see
And you need temporary beauty,
and hope to God that it doesn't rain
You need temporary beauty,
even though it might be love, [3 times]
in vain