[Verse 1] My father was a paper plane, my mother was a windswept tree My little brothers nearly twice my age, he taught me how to meditate I taught him how to read I grew up with a book in my bed, I got these dark circles before I Turned ten Heard my mother with her friends worry it was something she did To get such a serious kid [Hook] But Ive learned how to paint my face How to earn my keep How to clean my kill Some nights I still cant sleep The past rolls back, I can see us still Youve learned how to hold your own How to stack your stones But the historys thick Children arent as simple As wed like to think [Verse 2] Before you came along I was a lone cub Fell in love with language, tried to tell the grownups About the storm clouds, the weather in my head Hadnt heard the word for melancholy yet Then you came in five years behind We thought you couldnt talk, turns out you were just shy Mom said it was serious, dad said youd be fine I thought you were the prophet of 1989 You were so tender, we thought something was wrong with you So patient, we thought that you were deaf You were so solemn, so tiny but so ancient Ma took you to see doctors, you scared her half to death And I made you a library of tiny books with spines two inches high You didnt say too much But your smile taught me how to quiet down my mind [Hook] But Ive learned how to paint my face How to earn my keep How to clean my kill Some nights I still cant sleep The past rolls back, I can see us still Youve learned how to hold your own How to stack your stones But the historys thick Children arent as simple As wed like to think [Verse 3] You slept in my bed, and if I kept quiet I could hear all the voices in your head When the wagon tipped I prayed over your body, I asked God to take the damage out on me Ten years later he finally gets the memo, sent it to accounting And knocked out my front teeth But you came to, and took my hand, and held my eyes and Me and you, had a long walk home, so we decided not to cry Now weve got a grownup love And I know thats how its supposed to be Same old story, mom gets Easters, lets dad have Christmas Eve But I wont pretend I dont remember How unusual we were The little mystic and his handler All some children do is work [HookOutro] Ive learned how to paint my face How to earn my keep How to clean my kill Some nights I still cant sleep The past rolls back, I can see us still
learned, earn, grownup, taught, paint