Leave Me Alone

Last night I heard this old guy play guitar

He could push you with the music. He could take you far

But he would push you with his right hand

and he'd always hide his left

I just had one question for him, "Mister

Have you ever been convicted of theft?"

CHORUS

Cause He'd say This one's close to dying

This one's fine

This one's past the turning point

He's crossed the line

Now he was awful good at triage

that's for sure

But he was long on diagnosis

and short on cure

A long-winded conversation in a dorm room late at night

Hearts laid open under pale unnatural light

I raised the prospect of hope eternal. I was laughed at and scorned

They rolled their eyes like dice on a table

But their number was forlorn

BRIDGE

Now, you can take your chance

Beat your fists on the boards of despair

You end up with splinters in your knuckles

thinking, "unjust, unfair"

Or you can crawl to the altar of sadness

And starve at the base

And devour your history

In the shadows of misery

And your gone, gone, gone, without a trace

CHORUS

Now you been close dying

In fact you've crossed the line

You done sailed right past the turning point

thinking everything's fine

But when the gas runs out

and your sitting there stone cold

You think, "I was young when all this started

Now I'm old"

But when the doctor pushes the triage crew aside

he says, "You're all long on diagnosis

short on cure"

And he turns to you and says

"Come on, Darlin' we can make this

Yes, I'm sure"