Frank Turner
"Wisdom Teeth"


It’s been eighteen months since I kissed you once,
So just saying “hi” just isn’t going to fly,
But if you give me a clue and a minute or two,
Then I might remember your name.
And I hate to insist that I was really that pissed,
But to tell the truth, in my flush of youth,
I would drown my sight until faces and nights seemed the same.
And a nervous shrug and an awkward hug
Won’t get me out of the hole that I’ve dug,
So I slip the noose with a poor excuse
And talk to someone, anyone else.
And I sit with my friends and I try to pretend
That I never did that sort of thing again,
But I’m lying to myself.

And suddenly it’s as clear as clear could be:
I’m not quite the perfect man that I hoped I’d be.
And though I always tried to live an honest life,
To tell my truth I’ve told my share of lies.

I remember you, of course I do,
But I don’t recall how many times we’ve been through
This little game, that always ends the same,
With you sad and me far away.
And every time I repeat the line
That the fault’s not mine and I wasn’t unkind.
But the worst part is that I’ve got nothing else to say.

And all the pretty little pictures of faith and firm devotion
That I painted as a child,
Well they have fallen by the wayside, along with all my puppy-fat,
But my days have taught me this:
That every day I spend pretending that I always choose the right path
Is a day that I choose the wrong.

Oh yes my wisdom teeth have been giving me grief –
They woke me up to find that I’m exactly the kind of
Guy I said that I’d rather be dead than be
In the days before I got laid.