Smilin’ in the End

Can't really say it's been a good year
I know I'll see better days
Some things that shouldn't have been going on around here
Have been going on anyways

I was face down in a pool of my own self-pity
Gotta pick myself up and get out of this city
Gotta leave before I hurt someone
There's a place somewhere I'm gonna find
Where I can feel safe and leave it all behind
Gonna get away and have myself a little fun

'Cause you can knock me down, run me over
Back up and run me down again
You ain't the first - I've been treated worse
Guess I oughta be more careful choosing my friends
Well, you can leave me cold - I'll recover
Say nasty things about my mother
Well, you can beat me, mistreat me
But guess who'll be smilin' in the end?

Playin' in bands since I was a kid
Always part of the brotherhood
But a lonely, only child
Only barely understood

I was told I'd never make it so many times before
The best and the brightest had shown me the door
But the more they tried to hold me back, the stronger I got
They said my songs were too simple, my voice was too weak
Said I was too young, too dumb, too much of a freak
They thought they could write me off
But there's somethin' they forgot

'Cause you can knock me down, run me over
Back up and run me down again
You ain't the first - I've been treated worse
Guess I oughta be more careful choosing my friends
Well, you can leave me cold - I'll recover
Say nasty things about my mother
Well, you can beat me, mistreat me
But guess who'll be smilin' in the end?

I won't say I ain't had my share of good luck
Good luck is fine, it just ain't enough

'Cause you can knock me down, run me over
Back up and run me down again
You ain't the first - I've been treated worse
Guess I oughta be more careful choosing my friends
Well, you can leave me cold - I'll recover
Say nasty things about my mother
Well, you can beat me, mistreat me
But guess who'll be smilin' in the end?