Child Then

I could run before I learned to walk
Tore the tongues out of my shoes
So they wouldn't talk
I was a child then
Seven years at a private school
Only taught me how to play the fool
I was a child then
But I would do the same again
My counsel is my own to keep
And yes my conscience lets me sleep

My sisters would behave like trees
Whispering of mysteries
That were beyond my ken
Midnight out by Crater Lake
Wondering which pill to take
I was a child then
But I would do the same again
Take another backward leap
And yes my conscience lets me sleep

If I'd known then what I know now
I'd have done it anyhow
I never thought at forty-five
I'd still be alive, be alive

Sold my soul for the highest bid
Feel no remorse for what I did
I was a child then
But I would do the same again
My counsel is my own to keep
And yes my conscience lets me sleep