I once tried to change the world
When I was a radical youth
Oh, the accusations that I would hurl
At the men in the three button suits
Sure does seem crazy now
Me trying to change someone else
You might think I'm lazy now
But I better just work on myself
Well, I marched and I carried signs
Hoping my side would prevail
And I tried real hard to change their minds
I even spent one night in jail
Sure does seem crazy now
Me trying to change someone else
You might think I'm lazy now
But I better just work on myself
Forgiveness was the simple solution
That told me there's nothing to do
But undo all my little illusions
That keep me from seeing the good that's in you
Well, I once flew around the world trying to set others free
But later as my life unfurled
I saw that the prisoner was me.
Sure does seem crazy now
Me trying to change someone else
You might think I'm lazy now
I better just work on myself.
Well it's really not my business
How other people should live
The way to teach forgiveness
Is quite simply to forgive
Sure does seem crazy
Me trying to change someone else
You might think I'm lazy now
I better just work on myself.
You said I was lazy
You said I was bad
You said I was crazy
For the thoughts that I had
But something good's happening
way deep in my core
And I'm not listening to you anymore.
You said I was broken
You said I was cursed
Each time you've spoken
I've only felt worse
You can keep talkin'
But I'm closin' the door
And I'm not listening to you anymore
Protection's what I need
Or so you have decreed
You say your're saving me
from damnation
But all your harsh decrees
Just make me feel diseased
How could they be the keys to salvation?
There is another that I'm listening to
A wise older brother
Much kinder than you
You better get used to being ignored
Cause I'm not listening to you anymore.
If you ain't right with the mirror
Then you ain't right in here
And if you ain't right in here
Then you're gonna live in fear
That someone else will see
The things that you hold secretly
The things you wish "God please"
would simply cease to be
But you found a way some forgotten yesterday
To make them go away
Or at least keep them at bay
First off you denied
Those things you hate inside
Then you rationalized
minimized, intellectualized
and finally mentally pulverized
And projected them into space
So that every human face
Bears a little trace of your supposed disgrace
And you wish you were more kind
But every face serves to remind
You of what you have left behind
Until rage has left you bitter and blind
No wonder you hate mirrors
By now you must be clear that
Mirrors never lie
No matter how much you deny
It's still there in your eyes
It's time that we get wise
And learn to love the parts
We've exiled from our hearts
Are you ready?
Now look in the mirror
OK..Let's start!!
What good is a blue and cloudless sky
If I keep hanging clouds behind my eyes
What good is a calm and peaceful sea
If there’s a silent storm inside of me
Now I see, now I see
Why they’re saying it’s all about me
Now I see, now I see
A different Universe with each blessing
And each curse.
What good are horizons bright and clear
If they are misted over by my tears
What good is a sunrise full of light
If my days are darkened by my fright
Now I see, now I see
Why they’re sayin’ it’s all about me
And it’s clear, very clear
A different Universe with each blessing
And each curse.
What good is abundance without end
If I won’t accept the smallest gifts from friends
What good is the love that’s all around
If in my own sorrow I am drowned.
Now I see, now I see
Why they say that it’s all about me
Now I see, now I see
A different Universe with each blessing
And each curse.
Each morning when I’m half awake
I give my shaving kit a shake
It sounds like a nest of rattle snakes
Because my shaving kit is filled
With many different kinds of pills
That make life easier to take
I am a medicated man
Though my diagnosis isn’t who I am
‘Til I can still these shakin’ hands
I am a medicated man
I’m holy as a kitchen sponge
I know that everything is one
That doesn’t help with fight or flight
Taking these pharmaceuticals
Won’t make the world more beautiful
But they sure get me through the night.
I am a medicated man though my diagnosis Isn’t who I am
‘Til I can still these shakin’ hands
I am a medicated man
It’s humbling to think a tiny pill
Can do so much more than my will
Mysterious and very, very strange
Those things that I cannot seem to change
I am a medicated man
Though my diagnosis isn’t who I am
A true blue modern American
I am a medicated, State College educated
I am a medicated man.
Guilty again
Feeling quite exactly like I felt when I was ten
And I was caught stealing
Guilty as Sin
Man, my conscience takes it on the chin
When I give in and I'm left with this feeling
I hate what I'm recreating
Why do I keep going back to guilt
The church lady says it's Satan
But I think it's a trap my ego built.
Outside, what you think you see
Dreams of death and scarcity
There’s nothing there you really keep
It’s only real while you’re asleep
Inside your self-made cage
Feel the narcissistic rage
There’s nothing in there but what you built
From dreams of fear and sin and guilt
Outside a brother’s blood is spilled
Because, it’s kill or be killed
So, welcome to the jungle we made
To hide from God
We’re so afraid
Because we think we trashed his throne
So we could stand each one alone
And shout out to the universe
I’d rather ride a hell-bound hearse
Than lose my singularity
To some vague God of Unity
And so we walk
Each in his dream
With no idea of
What it means
Inside we’re scared
Outside it’s scary
As we march toward
Our obituaries
But deep inside
A memory’s stuffed
That waits until
We’ve had enough
Of outside things
That fall apart
And break our bones and
Break our hearts
With gentle voice it call to us
As we lay facedown in the dust
To come home where our kingdoms kept
Back in a place we never left
Where “holy” is the only name
Inside outside
It’s all the same
Waking up is what I'm here to do.
My mind is on the clock
My ass is on the cushion
Sometimes I wanna stop
But something says keep pushing
My whole left leg is numb
The cushion's hard as an anvil
There's pain in both my buns
I wish I had an Advil.
Back straight and body balanced
It takes more will that it takes talent
But waking up is what I'm here to do
There goes my 1,000th thought
My mind is louder than a stereo
For all the peace it's brought
I could have watched
The Jerry Springer Show
Back straight and body balanced
It takes more will that it takes talent
But waking up is what I'm here to do
If I don't wake up there's no leavin'
I'll spend eternity in Cleveland
Red meat's bad, but cheese is Gouda
What's it take to be a Buddha
I eat the right foods
With a sweet attitude
But I'm still a sleep-walkin' dude
I just keep on sittin still
Antenna pointed down inside
And I know I won't quit until
I find the place where Heaven hides
Back straight and body balanced
It takes more will than it takes talent
But waking up is what I'm here to do.