[Verse 1]
There's no mistake, I smell that smell
It's that time of year again
I can taste the air

[Verse 2]
The clocks go back, railway track
Something blocks the line again
And the train runs late for the first time

[Verse 3]
A pebble beach, we're underneath
A pier that's just been painted red
Where I heard the news for the first time

[Chorus]
And all the friends lay down the flowers
Sit on the banks and drink for hours
Talk of the way they saw him last
Local boy in the photograph
Today

[Verse 4]
He'll always be 23
Yet the train runs on and on
Past the place they found his clothing
[Verse 5]
There's no mistake, I smell that smell
It's that time of year again
I can taste the air

[Verse 6]
The clocks go back, railway track
Something blocks the line again
And the train runs late for the first time today

[Chorus]
And all the friends lay down the flowers
Sit on the banks and drink for hours
Talk of the way they saw him last
Local boy in the photograph
Today
He's gone away