She got the British Shoe Bus
He got the same one every day
He was there whether she was early or she was late
He watched her like a front door
Waiting for a postman's knock
After a while she asked him why this was

He told her he had travelled back in time
To make sure he would never make her cry
She said "Oh, right"

He looked too old and timid
To be a threat if violent
She assumed he was harmless and they became friends
They'd sometimes meet outside work
Always at a precise time
He insisted on promptness, she didn't really mind

He always told her he had travelled back in time
To make sure he would never make her cry
She said "But why?"

Because I know
What happens next
And I want you
To be loved instead

One night out she noticed
All his clothes were turning grey
His hair and facial features started to fade
He smiled when he saw this
And said "Well, this has got to prove"
"That the future I came back from has been removed"

And as he disappeared he said bye, bye, bye
I promised I would never make you cry
She was quite surprised

She staggered from the cafe
Into a pub just down the road
And bumped into a young man she seemed to know
It was, of course, his younger self
Who he'd been trying to keep her from
So he'd never do that things that he himself did wrong

He always told her he had travelled back in time
To make sure he would never make her cry
And he hadn't lied

But now she didn't know
What would happen next
She sort of hoped
They'd find love instead