Oh Tom, You Didn’t Mean That

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
Even babies don't like grown up men who talk in squeaky voices
And come on apologetic
It's easier to act the fool
Than to acknowledge etiquette

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
You're too contemptuous to be convincing as a sideman
And you don't look good in red
You need a spotlight and that puppet
That has the wooden head

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
It was just a poem, just words for the sake of
Nightingales and thimblefuls and manliest and smartest
You have a way with words
Trust the art, don't trust the artist

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
All your efforts at grand gesture are predictably predictable
Banal and insincere
I mean, is this the Taj Mahal, Johnny's tattoo
Or Vincent's ear?

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
I know lots of guys who've put a baseball through the neighbor's window
And then lied about who threw it
And maybe you'll get away with it
But that doesn't mean you didn't do it

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
How many times can you rewrite the story of your life
Before you throw the pen away
And give up the life you thought would make you write
Like Hemingway

Oh Tom, you didn't mean that
You're talking in your sleep and I'm fool enough to listen
For something worth comprehending
But it's dark, summer's over
And the millennium is ending