When I accepted this job, I was resigned to my fate   When I got there early, she'd arrive late   You can say she's gone forever or just sit tight and wait   She said I was unprincipled, that I was not the first      Like the Phoenix coming back from the ashes, uh-huh   I know what's good, but I know what trash is   In the head lights, in the highlights of her hair   Hit the headlines, but she's not there      Many happy returns, many happy returns   These are the lessons I could have learned   Return, many happy returns   And these are the letters I should have burned      Okay, I'm sad not blue, okay, remember   All that matters to me now is the message I sent her      Like the world spinning 'round on its axis, uh-huh   I know democracy, but I know what's fascist   When she's gone, all I've got to learn   Is the law of diminishing return   When she's here, one thing I've found   Things get better second time around      Return, many happy returns   These are the lessons I could have learned   Return, many happy returns   And these are the letters I should have burned      Okay, I'm sad not blue, okay, remember   All that matters to me now is the message I sent her   Now she's gone, she's gone away   Now she's gone forget her   Coming back another day if you'd only let her      Now she's gone, she's gone away   But now she's gone, forget her   Coming back another day, so why resurrect her      Many happy returns, many happy returns   These are the lessons we should have learned   Many happy returns, many happy returns   And these are the letters I should have burned