Texty: Kirsty MacColl. The Stiff Years. He's On The Beach.

He was just a friend of mine
I'd run into from time to time
Long before he moved away
We used to share a taste for wine
Still I never knew that he was sad back then
He said the time had come for him to take a holiday

And he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
He sends those postcards now
I'm not sure where he is
But he's out of reach

When he called me up one day
And said that he was going away
I thought he meant a week in France
And not twelve thousand miles to Sydney Bay
Still he had to take his chances
He said the time had come for him to make a move away

And he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
He writes those postcards now
He's on his own again
And he's out of reach
(my baby gets it on the beach)

And I don't blame him
Leaving was the best thing he could do
He longed for changes
I just hope he's happy
When he does the things he thinks he has to do
And he tries, and he tries
Yes he tries but he's a little bit hard on himself
Somehow he's trying to be someone else

And he says, he says, he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
It's in his postcards now
He's on his own again
So far out of reach

And he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
It's in his postcards now
He's in Australia
So far out of reach
And he says it's brilliant there

For the 1995 BBC Sessions version, the lyrics are slightly altered (not radically)

He was just a friend of mine
I'd run into from time to time
Long before he moved away
We used to share a taste for wine
Still I never knew that he was sad back then
He said the time had come for him to make a move away

And he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
It's in his postcards now
I'm not sure where he is
But he's out of reach

When he called me up one day
And said that he was going away
I thought he meant a week in France
And not twelve thousand miles to Sydney Bay
Still he had to take his chances
He said the time had come for him to make a move away

And he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
It's in his postcards now
I'm not sure where he is
But he's out of reach

And I don't blame him
Leaving was the best thing he could do
He longed for changes
I just hope he's happy
When he does the things he thinks he has to do
And he tries, yes he tries
Yes he tries but he's a little bit hard on himself
I think he's trying to be someone else

And he says, he says, he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
It's in his postcards now
I'm not sure where he is
But he's out of reach

And he says it's brilliant there
There's something in the air
And sunshine everywhere
He's on the beach
I know he's changed somehow
He write those postcards now
He's in Australia
So far out of reach
And he says it's brilliant there