A Small Cigar

A small cigar can change the world,
I know, I've done it frequently at parties
where I've won all the guests' attention
with my generosity and suave gentlemanly bearing.
A little flat tin case is all you need
breast-pocket conversation opener
and one of those ciggie lighters that look rather good
you can throw away when empty.
Must be declared a great success
My small cigars all vanish within minutes.

Excuse me, mine host, that I may visit a nearby tobacconist
to replenish my supply of small cigars and make the party swing again.
I know my clothes seem shabby
and don't fit this Hampstead soiree,
where unread copies of Rolling Stone,
well-thumbed Playboys
decorate the hi-fi stereo record shelves.
If you ask me they're on their way
to upper-middle-class oblivion.
The stupid twits, they roll their only
one cigarette between them.
My small cigar's redundant now
in the haze of smoking pleasure.
Call it a day,
Get the hell away,
Go down the cafe
For a cup of real tea.

By the tube station, there's a drunk old fool
who sells papers in the rush hour.
I hand to him ten small cigars.
He smiles, says, "Son, God bless you''.
A small cigar
Has changed his world, my friend
A small cigar
Has changed the world again

A small cigar, a small cigar,
a small cigar, a small cigar
a small cigar.