Life Boat - Ani DiFranco

Every time I open my mouth

I take off my clothes

I’m raw and frostbitten from

Being exposed

I got red scabby hands

And purple scabby feet

And you can smell me coming from

Halfway down the street

And I remember that old hotel had quite the smell

Where I’d go to use the phone

Between the donut shop and the pizza parlor

Where I learned to live alone

Sweet sixteen and smiling

My way out of any jam

Learning the ways of the world, oh my

Learning the ways of man

And I didn’t really want a baby

And I guess that I had a choice

But I just let it grow inside me

This persistent little voice

And I guess I got her off and running

And then run off is what she did

And that’s part of what I think about

When I think about that kid

So now there’s nothing left to wish upon

Except for passing cars

The cacophony of city lights

Is drowning out the stars

This park bench is a life boat

And the rest a big dark sea

And I’m just gonna lie here until

Something comes and finds me

Yeah I got this tired old face

Still grinning most of the time

Just 'cause it don’t have a better way

To express what’s on it’s mind

And I got this running monologue

Entertaining in its outrage

And I’ve got the air of an animal

That’s been living in a cage

Every time I open my mouth

I take off my clothes

I’m raw and frostbitten from

Being exposed

I got red scabby hands

And purple scabby feet

And you can smell me coming from

Halfway down the street