[Intro]

[Verse]

“The Last Invoice”

(in the style of Billy Bragg)

Verse 1

Thirty years of boardrooms, of margins and of men

Who never learned to listen but were happy to explain

I signed my name on Monday and I meant it as goodbye

No gold watch, just a pension and a London summer sky

Verse 2

Now Imran’s got the keys to it, the risk is his to run

I’m learning where the towpath goes before the working day’s begun

I’ve swapped the strategic roadmap for a footpath on the map

And nobody’s judging me for taking a nap

Chorus

So play me something honest, Ronnie Scott’s on a Tuesday night

Vinyl on the Linn and the Naim doing it right

I’m not chasing targets, I’m just chasing the light

This is my retirement, and I’m doing it right

Verse 3

Carla says I’m underfoot, I says I’m recalibrating

There’s a telescope out on the balcony, the universe is waiting

I’m filling in the forms for a passport that’s my mother’s due

Denial of justice, well, we’ll see that one through

Verse 4

Kenya in September, Denmark before that

The consulate won’t answer, so I’m building up the flak

No more away-days, no more away-day slides

Just the London Loop and the changing of the tides

Chorus

So play me something honest, Ronnie Scott’s on a Tuesday night

Vinyl on the Linn and the Naim doing it right

I’m not chasing targets, I’m just chasing the light

This is my retirement, and I’m doing it right(spoken, half-sung)

And when they ask me what I did with all my years

I’ll say I built a company, and then I built my ears

To the sound of a saxophone, the turning of a page—

There’s no retirement from living, only a change of stage