Pappa don't preach,
I beseech you man,
Your devilish deeds
Teach more than a teacher can.
What have we learned?
Which lessons won't stick?
Tracing the edges
Of wisdom and sh**.
Knowing how the world works
Is not knowing how to work the world.
You're tracing its movements,
Predict its every turn;
You watch down from above
And record what you learn.
You're graphing the data
And tagging up our ears.
Complex simulations
With graph paper gears.
Wistful in his widow's peak,
So to speak, he stands.
A son confronts his father
With his hat in his hands.
All the things you never could do,
I never can.
All the things I blamed on you
I see I now do, too.
A handful of stories,
A house full of cards,
A mouthful of sorrys,
And a heart full up of scars.
I take a handful of you
And take a handful of me,
I put it in my mouth
And chew it up so thoroughly.