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