Peter Hammill - Eat My Words, Bite My Tongue

Best to say nothing at all,
No shot from the hip;
You might say something appalling,
A confidence tripped off the tongue.
Better to keep the mouth zipped,
Your silence preserved.
Go through the night with your lips sealed,
For truth is best served by discretion.
Best to refrain,
Don't excuse or explain,
No, engage that dull brain
Before speaking.

I should have listened, for once, to my own advice,
I should have paid attention.
I was so eager to have my say,
I fell in love with the sound of my own damn voice.

I never thought how offensive the line might seem
If taken out of context.
My best intentions all fall away
And it's no laughing matter,
Now I can't pack that jabberwock back in the box.

No way to take back the hasty phrase,
No chance to unspeak the sentence
That hangs in the air,
Held up by the jaw-dropped silence.

I know you're going to walk away.
Although I make my retraction
It can't be unsaid
And my foot's in my mouth for good.

Clearly I'd eat my words
When all is said and done.
By now you'd think I might have learned
To bite my tongue.