Second place in this stupid race that I know I'll never win
I will soon be defeated and beaten retreat to the starting blocks again
It's always a struggle for survival, rival after rival, my chances always slim
Maybe she's got a prettier dress than me, but I am still not wise enough to see
That this is all for not, not him

Oh I am, stuck in a crosswalk, between two red lights
Waiting for the neon man to tell me when I can
Cross safely back into the real world again
Tell me mister man, would you take a willing afterthought's hand

My silence is deafening, it's far too threatening, to let these words begin
Oh I won't say a word, but I speak its absurd, then you misinterpret my grin
Its this vicious cycle, I'm the hypnotized disciple, hold me down before I sin
I'd nearly kneel down before you, oh beg you, implore you,
to sink into, my skin

Cause I am stuck in a crosswalk, between two red lights
Waiting for the neon man to tell me when I can
Cross safely back into the real world again
Tell me mister man, would you take a willing afterthoughts hand

Ooh eh ah, ooh eh ah, stop, stare, linger, turn left, lean right
Ooh eh ah, ooh eh ah the sunshine burns and the moonlight's too bright
Ooh eh ah, ooh eh ah, I'm feeling green but this monster I must fight
Second place, second place, second place, I am in, second place
I'm in, second place, second place

And I am, stuck in a crosswalk, between two red lights
Waiting for the neon man to tell me when I can
Cross safely back into the real world again
Tell me mister man, would you take a willing, would you take a willing
afterthoughts hand

Scars and Stripes

Had a bad case, of the wandering eye
Soft lips, smooth hands, the only things on my mind
I'm waiting, in the wings for a cue, searching for you to give my eye to
But these tinted glasses always taint my view

My daddy warned me about your kind
He said you'd never change your ways
You're just that tiger he spoke of
With the same stripes on a different day

Set my gaze down, upon your sweet skin
Then torture myself with the thought of your secret grin
It's your face that first took me by surprise, but I know I'll see the truth when I look
into your eyes
Let them show me something new, not just the same bullshit I'm used to

Cause my daddy warned me about your kind
He said you'd never change your ways
You're just that tiger he spoke of
With the same stripes on a different day

Don't be just the one I'm eyeing in my rearview mirror
Come here, even closer, than you appear
And I'll wave my flag of scars and stripes
Its black, not white, I'm not the surrender type, I won't leave you here without a fight
What you see is what you get, my stripes will never change
But the scars will show forever, and I know, you too, the same

My daddy warned me about your kind
He said you'd never change your ways
You're just that tiger he spoke of
With the same stripes on a different day

My daddy warned me about your kind
He said you'd never change your ways
You're just that tiger he spoke of
With the same stripes, same stripes, on a different day

Hello will never be the same, and good-bye's the one to blame
I meant everything I said on the corner of your bed
I wonder what we could have been, had I stayed near, the one
That got away

Too much time gone and I had to see you, 300 miles I'd travel for
Just to tell you that I loved you, I know you've heard it all before
But I was only seventeen, didn't know you'd always be
The kind of heart I'd always search for
So then at 23 I shared, my open heart with you
If I could go back there I swear, I'd show you what you meant to me

Oh would you let me in, or would it be a waste
Of long past treasured time, some far off happy place
That a decade of should have and would have and could have
Just will not replace

Hello will never be the same, and good-bye's the one to blame
I meant everything I said on the corner of your bed
I wonder what we could have been, had I stayed near, the one
That got away

Goodbye I'll say, no, write today
I fear it's always the case, the thoughts my words will replace
There will be no lengthy conversation, tonight
I can't talk to you about love gone, write

So clear now, its a world full of greed, consumed with buying to live
The bill paid, when all that you have left, is a life left to give
You won't hold your fire, kill or be killed is wiser?
100 years older, is the war ever over?

Goodbye I'll say, no, write today
I fear it's always the case, the thoughts my words will replace
There can be no lengthy conversation, tonight
I can't beg you to show a little love, gone write

Why me, how, am I back here again, my mind gone right back to you
One more round, I'd throw my gloves down and strip my soul naked too
But it was all an illusion, you weren't the conclusion
100 lines told her, maybe this one is over

But it's always:
Unresolved, sins absolved, heart broken, unspoken, tunnel vision, empty mission
earth shaking, mood quaking, false hope, better cope, please defeat it, then repeat it
Those seething lies, alibis, expectations, mediations, keep denying, no ones lying
smiles useless, false goodness, first impression, fleeting heaven, living hell, never tell
warm hands, cold gun, unruly world, hope undone

Goodbye I'll say, no, write today
I fear it's always the case, the thoughts my words will replace
There has to be some conversation tonight
Please talk a little bit more about love gone write
Or what's left?