The future held such promise when she started at the school
Every day a new day full of learning full of rules
They taught her all about his world as by the years did roll
She was sixteen years a school kid now he’s sixteen on the dole.
Chorus:
And I’ve seen her in the city streets more times than I can tell
All around this country her face is known so well
As she wanders round killing time - her life one endless stroll
She was sixteen years a school kid now she’s sixteen on the dole.
At school she was no genius but still she didn’t care
She was strong and she was happy in the sun and in the air
Soon she would grown and she would plan to try to reach her goal
But the joy soon turned to bitterness at sixteen on the dole.
Chorus:
The world she sees about her is a world that doesn’t care
It shows her what a teenage kid should eat and drink and wear
Then through its glittering pop world makes her wander like a mole
She was sixteen years a school kid now she’s sixteen on the dole.
Chorus:
In time the gravestone of this crime will bear the victim’s name
And all the wreaths of flowery words won’t hide a nation’s shame
The politicians had no cure for cancer of the soul
She was sixteen years a school kid now she’s sixteen on the dole.
