I'd been smoking cigarettes like I could afford them
and contemplating suicide in my Mid-Atlantic doldrums
'Peaks and valleys,' said my friend, when he got clean in twenty-ten
Now he's back in West Philly, shooting junk again
Peaks and valleys, but no even ground
Peaks and valleys, never leveling out
You're shouting and crying,
but not making a sound when you speak
You shoulder a boulder up the valley slope,
but never quite reach the peak
So, I had to find what was missing and remove what was in my way
I fortified my birdcage, emptied out my ashtrays,
I sweated out the poison, washed and folded my towels
I reshaped my mortal clay, baby, and look at me now
It's still
Peaks and valleys, but no even ground
Peaks and valleys, never leveling out
You're laughing and smiling,
but not making a sound when you speak
You shoulder a boulder up the valley slope,
but never quite reach the peak
I've got dreams in need of hope
and nightmares that don't dare quit
I'm full of charm, I'm full of love, I'm full of guilt,
I'm full of lies, I'm full of shit
Sometimes I want to kiss my reflection,
Other times, I want to tell him, 'Grab the gun, son: this is it.'
So, I'm back to smoking cigarettes like I can afford them
and contemplating suicide, this time purely out of boredom
I'm a wholly different man in my head than when I'm lying in your bed
But if you bring me into your life, baby, remember when I said
that I'm back to smoking cigarettes like I can afford them
and deciding whether or not suicide is dulce et decorum
I'm a wholly different man holding a pen than lying in your bed
But if you keep me in your life, baby, remember when I said that it's
Peaks and valleys, but no level ground
Peaks and valleys, never evening out
There's a shudder in your throat,
but you don't make a sound when you speak
You watch the boulder roll down the slope,
as you're just about to reach the peak
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