Bruise In a Brushwash

I've got a newspaper problem

Swimming laps through my head

Past the abstract excuses I've passed off

As facts to the people I've met

My brother's piece in the paper says it all

We excuse assholes and bastards

To detail their defects in beautiful songs

And I wonder is it a free pass I'm banking on?

I bruise in a brushwash

Nail marks from a featherbed

A reflex hammer cracks porcelain

And the doctors don't do anything

So you've got a reputation

And it's mean enough to follow me around

So I'm bad at being careful

So you should be careful for yourself

And I've been working all day

To make the rest of my body behave like my brain

If it pans out I plan to keep it that way

And I think we kiss like dry dirt

A dusty string of filthy words

A dribble out between spurts of carnival barks and symphonic stirs

You're the lesson I never could learn

You bruise in a brushwash

Nail marks from a featherbed

A reflex hammer cracks porcelain

And the doctor's don't fix anything

So you've got a reputation

And it's mean enough to follow you around

And you're bad at being careful

So I should be careful with myself

You're still the name I say first

And I'm trying to figure out

Just what that's worth

I bruise in a brushwash

Nail marks from a featherbed

A reflex hammer cracks porcelain

And the doctors don't fix anything

So I've got a reputation

And it's mean enough to follow me around

And you're bad at being careful

So I should be careful with myself