These words are transcribed without permission the way they appear in the "Vauxhall & I" album. There are no variations between the printed lyrics and what Morrissey actually sings in the studio version.

Say, Billy Budd ¹
so you think you should? ²
everyone's laughing ³
say, Billy Budd
so you think that you should? ²
everyone's laughing! ³
since I took up with you
Things have been bad ⁴
yeah, but now it's 12 years on ⁵
now it's 12 years on
yes, and I took up with you
I took my job application
into town
did you hear? they turned me down ⁶
yes, and it's all because of us
and what was in our eyes
and what was in our eyes
Say, Billy Budd
I would happily lose
both of my legs
I would lose both of my legs
if it meant you could be free
if it meant you could be free
(sample: "don't leave us in the dark")

 

² On the Greatest Hits tour Morrissey often changed the first or second occurrence of "so you think that you should" to "do you think that you could" or "do you think you even could". The latter change on the second occurrence became standard in 2009, although for a short stretch on that tour's second leg Morrissey experimented with the line and came up with very awkward-sounding variations on "if you could do you think that you should".

³ In most live performances of this song from 1995 and 2007-2008, as heard on the live version released on the "The Boy Racer" cd-single, Morrissey sang "but everyone's laughing".

⁴ On the third leg of the Tour Of Refusal, Morrissey often followed this line with "Really? Yes!".

⁵ In live performances of this song from the mid/late 1990s, Morrissey sometimes updated this line. For example he would sing "now it's 13 years on" in 1995, "now it's 15 years on" in 1997 or "now it's 18 years on" in 1999 (when it should have been 17). On the 2000 half of the Oye Esteban tour he stopped making that change, or went overboard by singing "now it's 50 years on", "now it's a hundred years on", "now it's 500 years on" or "now it's 1000 years on". He didn't change the line in Latin America on the latter tour or when he started doing the song again on the 2007-2008 Greatest Hits tour. On the 2009 Tour Of Refusal he usually sang "30 years on" until the third leg when he alternated between the latter change and the original line.

⁶ In live performances of this song on the 1997 Maladjusted tour, Morrissey sometimes sang "So what! they turned me down". He pulled this one out again on the 2000 North American and Latin American legs of the Oye Esteban tour. On the Greatest Hits tour in 2007 he alternated between the original studio form and "So what! they turned me down". In early 2008 this became "Thank God! they turned me down", or sometimes "Thank Christ! they turned me down or "Of course! they turned me down". In the summer of 2008 he alternated again between the original studio form and "So what! they turned me down". On a few occasions at the start of the 2009 Tour Of Refusal Morrissey sang the alternate "So what! they turned me down", but most of the time he stuck with the original line. Then during the final week of the tour's first leg he came up with the new "Thank Christ! they turned me down". On later legs he alternated between the original "Did you hear, they turned me down" or the variations "So what! they turned me down" and "Thank Christ! they turned me down".