Real Tears for Sale
A girl so beautiful anger can’t hide it… or can it?
You’ve shaved your head, pulled your face
Dressed without grace
This doesn’t hide the damage of a life
This doesn’t hide a life of fears (*)
Against your better judgment
You put everything of yourself for sale
And the horror revealed when you were young
We couldn’t wait to find out
But even whores don’t kiss with their tongues
Yet I’m convinced you’ve cried real tears (**)
Real tears for sale!
Real tears for sale
Real tears for sale
Real tears, real tears for sale!
The wrong side of a life spent drinking
Is where it seems I come from
I’ve taken my demons by the hand
Twisted and distorted them until they flowed and rhymed
And I’ve exploited your love and all the pain it contained
I’ve laid them on the market stall
Agony at a bargain price
“Cut to the bone!”, is what I shouted
The wrong side of the illusions of a life
Dragged me here on pills and strong beer (***)
Come to listen, come to hear my story
Come and take it. Come and take it.
Real tears for sale
Real tears for sale
Real tears for sale
Real tears for sale
All the wounds, all the secrets, all the damage, all the shame
All the dirty cuts and bruises, all the anger, all the rage
All the rage.
Boo hoo.

(*) The inspiration for these lyrics is drawn from the story of Irish singer Sinead O’Connor, who has repeatedly stated that her childhood was characterized by abuse suffered at the hands of her emotionally unstable mother.

(**) In the video for 'Nothing Compares 2 U', O’Connor cries after a line. She has always claimed that the tear was genuine and was provoked by the lyrics she was singing. In this sense, H says he believes her tears were real.

(***) Ale is the term used to refer to top-fermented beers, as opposed to the term lager, which refers to bottom-fermented beers.
[source Wikipedia NdT]

Real Tears For Sale - Marillion