Jogging - Richard Dawson

Recently I’ve been struggling with anxiety

To the point I find it hard to leave the flat

The days drain away, scouring eBay

Or looking on Zoopla at houses where I’ll never live

I know I must be paranoid

But every time I get the bus

I feel the many pairs of eyes

Weighing up my person surreptitiously

I was offered and took voluntary redundancy

From my role as counsellor at St. Cecilia’s secondary school

So I went back freelance as a graphic designer

Business is ok but I miss working with the young folk

I know I must be paranoid

When I pick up the groceries

One of the girls who works the check-out

Tuts under her breath and it destroys me for a week

Dr. Shen prescribed me beta-blockers

And recommended taking daily exercise

So I’ve started jogging

To my own great surprise

Hundreds of miles going nowhere

I know I must be paranoid

This morning in memorial park

I thought I caught a busker

Sneak an ugly word into «Wonderwall» as I went by

Jogging, jogging, I’m jogging, jogging

Jogging, jogging, jogging, jogging

Jogging, jogging, I’m jogging, jogging

Jogging

There’s a Kurdish family on the ground floor

Had a brick put through their kitchen window

The police know who did this, still they do nothing

It’s lonely up here in Middle-England

I know I must be paranoid

But I feel the atmosphere

'Round here is growing nastier

People don’t smile anymore

There’s no such thing as a quick-fix

But jogging has provided me

A base on which to mould my time

And let my worries go a while

I know I must be paranoid

But I feel the atmosphere

'Round here is growing nastier

People don’t care anymore

Would you like to sponsor me

For running the London Marathon?

Though it’s really daunting

We’re aiming to raise a thousand pounds for the British Red Cross