Wild Man

And I enrolled in a
Swim-sercise course
I think it was called
So, it was me and this
Like, really overweight kid
And like, these 60-year-old women
And, man, they could out-exercise me like mad
It was really embarrassing me
And the overweight kid, you know
We'd be just panting ourselves three quarters to death
At the end of the bloody workout
And these 60-year-old women
Who weren't in great shape were, like, you know
Chatting away as if nothing was going on
At all in the pool
So that was quite embarrassing, and

As was going to the weight room
You know, because when I started
I could barely bench press 75 pounds
And people used to keep coming over
And helping me
Which was the last thing
I bloody well wanted
But certainly needed
I got to the point where
I could bench press 225 pounds
I think that was the best I did
And I gained about 30 pounds of muscle
In a year and a half
So that was a good thing

[Chorus]
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man

And, you know, I'm a little bit manic
In my temperament
And so, I was kind of going every direction
At the same time
No, I don't regret that
I had a fine time when I was a kid
But I needed to get disciplined and
I had to do it because
I was working on these hard problems
That I've been discussing with all of you
And I've been working on them
Really obsessively since
I was probably about 18
Maybe even earlier than that

[Chorus]
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man

Got to the point around 25
When I was in graduate school
Trying to get my PhD
See, I published 15 papers by the time I graduated
Which was, I think, by a fairly large measure
The most papers that any graduate student
At that time had ever published at McGill
And at the same time, I wrote "Maps of Meaning"
Which was a
Terribly difficult thing to do
'Cause I was writing about three hours a day doing that
And I couldn't do all that
And continue with my misbehavior
You know, my sort of my
What would you say my
Massive hedonistic consumption of alcohol
And all of that, I just couldn't keep it up
And also work seriously on the issues
That were at hand so
I had to stop
That's a sacrifice
I had to stop messing about
And straighten myself out

[Chorus]
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man

[Chorus]
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
So
Like, I was kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man
Kind of a wild man

I had to stop
That's a sacrifice
I had to stop messing about
And straighten myself out