No Regrets, My Way

[Verse 1] I was born on a dead-end street with Sunday shoes and borrowed dreams Grandma’s Bible on the table, daddy’s coat that smelled like steam I learned early how the good china cuts your tongue if you complain So I packed a case with two clean shirts and a crooked last name Left a note on mama’s counter, “Don’t you wait up, I’ll be fine” Took a bus out past the wheat fields, watched the church fade from the line Swapped the choir for cheap pianos in the corners of old bars Sang for men who tipped in quarters, but I aimed past all their cars [Pre-Chorus] Every sideways look they threw, I wore it like a tailored suit Every warning that I blew, just another stubborn truth I learned grace from missing steps, rhythm from a breaking heart If I had to live it twice, I’d still tear the map apart [Chorus] This is my last look back One slow turn on a one-way track I lost some bets, I broke in half But I kept my word, I kept my laugh I paid in full for every crack This is my last look back [Verse 2] I kissed gamblers and believers, chased a ring I never wore Left a poet in Chicago sleeping on a hardwood floor I turned down a safer offer from a man in a perfect tie Said, “I’d rather miss the mortgage than to watch my spirit die” Played a ballroom in Des Moines in heels that bled through at the seams Signed my name on paper napkins like a queen of might-have-beens Watched my twenties in a rearview, watched my thirties in a glass Trading nights of easy company for one more honest crash [Pre-Chorus] Every bargain that I broke, kept me standing on my feet Every slammed and bolted door just gave my drums a sharper beat I found wisdom in the waiting, found my spine in saying no I would not have fit the costume they were sewing years ago [Chorus] This is my last look back One slow turn on a one-way track I lost some bets, I broke in half But I kept my word, I kept my laugh I paid in full for every crack This is my last look back [Bridge] [leise] To the kid inside that mirror with the hymnal in her hand Who thought you had to choose between their “please” and your own plan They will call you complicated, they will say you walked too far But you never sold your story for a cleaner little scar [laut] When they write that tiny column on the day I disappear Let them say I stayed untidy, but I never knelt to fear I won’t beg the past forgiveness, it won’t get one more attack I raise my glass, I take my bow, this is my last look back [Chorus] This is my last look back One more toast and I fade to black I missed my cue, I missed my mark But I lit my own way through the dark The road was bent, but I stayed on track This is my last look back [Outro] [flüsternd] So here’s my hat, here’s my thanks, here’s my heart still intact Turn the lights down, close the book… this is my last look back.