do you need the service
do you need to call me daily
do you have reasons for calling at all
is something on your mind
is something wrong---i get the feeling
that you're laughing at my quiet surprise
my silhouette is changing
as i'm aging by your window
and i focus on a light by your face
call me `the operator'
making comments "he's so technical"
or "i've absolutely nothing to do"
recycle all my photographs
i'll leave a picture of the queen
and no one has to know i was there
me, i'm so ashamed
you're all connected to my number
and the conversation's only polite
i'll wear my old grey raincoat
just in case you're `confidential'
make up stories like "the screen fades away"
today it's in a taxi
by the station, and it's raining
and i wonder how they all made it before

Gary Numan, "Do You Need The Service?", B-side of "Down In The Park" (1979)