on the playground you learned how to share with the kids,
but you still didn't feel you fit in.
you knew how to paint by numbers, but you knew it wasn't rock and roll.
you learned tight pants, spray paint, and eyeliner.
you said glam rock would save your soul.
but you couldn't grasp that the rebellion you wanted
wasn't something you could ever be sold.
and I never understood how someone could be so willing to be
absorbed into what I never thought could pass as identity.
and I always felt bad for the kids who had to share their faces
with sad teenagers across the world
who'd found something to fill their loss,
without ever addressing the cause.
then I saw your speech impediment imitated exactly
by a girl in seattle and a guy in minneapolis,
so i guess you must have learned that from tv
you said you'd find yourself for real,
but fell that far from the goal-
you had to paint by numbers but knew it wasn't r-r-r-r-rock and roll .