Rattlesnake

Losing touch in Tennessee

Freedom's got the best of me

And goddamn my opportunities

And goddamn this easy livin'

Gasping for the mountain air

Crawling up the campus stairs

My throne is an electric chair

I'm stunned with indecision

Pray for upgrades on my soul

Tearing through an open road

Questionin' my moral code

And screaming at a windshield

Knowing better all along

Knowing all I know is wrong

Throwing up my alcohol

Am I making this a big deal?

Oh, my skull is just a big white house

To some punk-ass kids from outta town

They stay up late and talk real loud

And sometimes I feel like kicking them out

Self-absorbed most of the time

Obsessed with sex and suicide

The dreams of Texas girls gone by

I lie like California

Stumblin' over all the states

Mumblin' like a basket case

"Oh, love is like a rattlesnake

Before it bites, it tries to warn ya"

But my heart is just a little boy

Holding hands like brand-new toys

Drunk on freedom, stuck on choice

Just cooing for the rattle's noise

Out of town and two klicks past

Found the western diamondback

It blocks my self-destructive path

I laugh, it shakes its tail

Says, "If you hurt all of your friends

And disappear around the bend

You bet you come right back again

Try to love, though you may fail"