Bubblegum
Helen Love Lyrics

Monday morning, up at eight,
Starting the week with a typical mundane routine, waking up early and getting ready for work or school.

The bus comes early from the bottom estate,
Taking the public transportation from a less affluent area, probably where the singer resides.

The weekend was blue, and so are you,
Feeling down and low, perhaps due to a bad weekend or personal issues.

Sad boy
The artist is addressed as a sad boy, highlighting his melancholic state.

Front seat, top deck, look at the view,
Sitting at the front most seat on the upper level of the bus, gazing out through the window.

Wish you were 14 and going to school,
Longing for the carefree days of childhood and reminiscing the past.

Can't forget what your girlfriend said to you,
Stressing over the hurtful or impactful words said by his girlfriend during their conversation.

Last night - she said
The artist recalls the events of the previous night when his girlfriend spoke to him.

You should put an advert in the music press,
Suggesting how the artist can find a new romantic partner, by advertising in music magazines.

'Sensitive boy needs a girl in a flowery dress',
The potential content of the advert mentioned in the previous line, specifying the type of partner the artist is seeking.

You're like bubblegum on my shoe,
Comparing the singer to a sticky bubblegum, adhering to the person's shoe and not coming off easily.

Need a stick to get rid of you,
Expressing the difficulty in letting go of the artist, as if a tool like a stick is required to detach him from oneself.

Can't get it off, can't get off on you
Playing on the previous metaphor, emphasizing the inability to move on from the singer and also the lack of attraction towards him.

Bus pulls up in the middle of town,
The bus arrives in the city center where most people get off to go to work or run errands.

But you don't go to work, you just hang around,
Dawdling or loafing around town instead of going to work, indicating possible unemployment or lack of motivation.

Take a degree in self-pity,
Mocking the artist's tendency to feel sorry for himself, as if it were a course he was studying.

Sad boy
Reframing the artist as a sad boy, once again highlighting his despondent state.

Sit in a cafe, buy a cup of tea,
Passing time in a café, perhaps to fill the void or to escape the daily grind.

Put the change in the bandit, lose 50p,
Subtly referencing gambling or playing fruit machines, wasting small amounts of money and making poor decisions.

Going round in your head are the things that she said,
Continuously replaying the words of the girlfriend in the artist's head, obsessing over them.

So hurtfully - she said
Emphasizing the pain caused by the girlfriend's words, still fresh in the artist's mind.

You're like bubblegum on my shoe,
Repeating the metaphor that compares the artist to bubblegum, as it seems to be stuck in the person's head and difficult to dislodge.

Need a stick to get rid of you,
Reiterating the difficulty in letting go of the singer and the need for some external intervention to remove him.

Can't get it off, can't get off on you
Repeating the previous line, conveying a sense of helplessness and also reiterating the lack of attraction or interest in the artist.

Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble,
Repeating the word bubble in a rhythmic manner, as a kind of hook or reinforcement.

Bubble, bubble, bubblegum,
Repeating the chorus, where the bubblegum metaphor is hammered in with playful cadence.