there s a man in my bed i used to love him his kisses used to take my breath away there s a man in my bed i hardly know him i wipe his face and hold his hand and watch him as he slowly fades away and he fades away not like leaves that fall in autumn turning gold against the grey he fades away like the bloodstains on the pillow case that i wash every day he fades away there s a man in my bed he s on a pension although he s only fifty years of age the lawyer says we might get compensation in the course of due procedure but he couldn t say for certain at this stage and he s not the only one who made that trip so many years ago to work the wittenoom mines so many young men old before their time and dying slow he fades away a wheezing bag of bones his lungs half clogged and full of clay he fades away there s a man in my bed they never told him the cost of bringing home his weekly pay and when the courts decide how much they owe him how will he spend his money when he lies in bed and coughs his life away and he fades away not like leaves that fall in autumn turning gold against the grey he fades away like the bloodstains on the pillow case that i wash every day he fades away