Boarding House

Well these walls have seen and heard a lot of sorrow

This house is where the vicious cycle thrives

It has a bathroom and a phone

But it's never been a home

Just a place where parents fuck up their kids' lives

The woman in room seven shot her husband

Her little daughter's name was Valerie

As she was hauled away in cuffs

She shouted out, "With any luck,"

"That little girl will grow up to be just like me"

In room six there was another broken family

A young mother left alone with her young son

His father went out for a drink

And not a soul has seen him since

It's plain to see their little nightmare's just begun

And I swear I've seen enough to last a lifetime

I swear that I could just go on and on

But I'll spare you the details

I know nobody really cares

I just had to put it these whispers in a song

And it's 123

This may not be

The prettiest song you've heard but please

You gotta listen closely now and then

'Cause there are stories in these halls

And there are faces in these walls

And none of them ever want to come here again

Well the woman in room five survived the fire

She survived the flood and plague and lightning too

And she never even cried, so I had to turn a blind eye

Every month when we both knew the rent was due

And she said, "Please don't you do me any favors,"

"I simply can't afford to pay them back"

And I told her it was free

And she just looked at me

And said "Darling, I ain't never heard of that"

Now her ashes belong to the county

And her boy is a ward of the state

And he'll grow up someday

And drink his life away

It's a sad but inevitable fate

It's important that you recognize the cycle

That really is the only crucial part

Don't you say that it's genetic

I don't think you really get it

Because you cannot pass down a broken heart

And it's 123

This may not be

The prettiest song you've heard but please

You gotta listen closely now and then

'Cause there are stories in these halls

And there are faces in these walls

And none of them ever want to come here again

And that little girl who grew up in room seven

Well she turned out just the way that you'd expect

And to her mother as she died

She said "Don't you apologize,"

"We know my life would have already been a mess"

And they found her body floating in the bathtub

The makeup was still fresh upon her face

And a brief and simple note

On the wall in lipstick wrote

"It's the only way to get out of this place"

And it's 123

This may not be

The prettiest song you've heard but please

You gotta listen closely now and then

'Cause there are stories in these halls

And there are faces in these walls

And none of them ever want to come here again