Do you know how I know that your girl is done gone?
Overheard it in a beauty salon
That’s a real fucking denouement
For my ass

So you know yes I know how it is to be blue
Guts on your sleeve just like a fucking tattoo
Boo hoo. But still I wish I heard it from you

You never told me that she left you / [repeat]
We’re not as close as I would like / separate checks please
I had no chance to say I’m sorry / uh…
So I’ll say it at open mic / to believe in this living is just a hard way to go

Yes I owe you a million dollars
And 20,000 cigarettes
And a grilled cheese sandwich that you bought me in Kankakee
But I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay
No I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay

92 on the queue we had nothing to do
But climb onstage and ram our ragged art through
And no one held a candle to you

You could fly you could sting you could make the strings ring
At open mic you were the coffeehouse king
It’s a real thing to feel you sing

I was preaching at your altar / [repeat]
With velocity and force / death do you part
My faith in marriage did not falter / um…
And now we both have a divorce / Oh hell no!

So yes I owe you a night of laughter
Out on the streets of a different town
I owe you a mixdown of my latest CD
But I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay
No I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay

Stole your bassist, your bass, even stole the damn case
There are some pages we would gladly erase
Take your place in the rat-fuck race

Try to cry if you can it will make you a man
Flash in the pan becomes more trash for the can
Thrown out of your own damn band

And I remember certain moments / [repeat]
As if they were a few years long / how long is this
I had no chance to give condolence / um…
I had no choice but make a song / 1234

And when we’re wealthy like James Joyce is
And we’re cruising Green Street in one of your Rolls Royces
We can chat about the past and
all the foolish choices
That I’m making right now right now

And maybe some day we’ll go to Australia
And I’ll teach you how to shroom
And we’ll make so many friends you’ll wonder how you felt as
lonely as you do
yes you do

But I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay
No I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay

Nothing lasts but the past and it’s gathering mass
Compared to it the future’s just a little half-assed
Guess we better step on the gas

What you got can’t be bought it can only be caught
And like a virus it will all be forgot
Take the stage and and take your best shot

And someday when we’re stupid famous / [repeat]
And get all our coffee for free / make mine black please
You’ll have forgotten what her name is / um…
And you’ll start a band with me / Chicago we love you!

So yes I owe you a quillion dollars
And umpteen google cigarettes
And I owe you a song about how you get so fucking drunk when I
Get so fucking drunk
Like I do
Yes I do
But I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay
No I’ll never pay I’ll never pay I’ll never pay

And if someday your skies are muddy
And you need to tell somebody
Just remember you’re my buddy