Lyrics Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco

Life Boat

Every time I open my mouth

I take off my clothes

I'm raw and frostbitten from

being exposed

I got red scabby hands

and purple scabby feet

And you can smell me coming from

halfway down the street

And I remember that old hotel had quite the smell

where I'd go to use the phone

Between the donut shop and the pizza parlor

where I learned to live alone

Sweet sixteen and smiling

my way out of any jam

Learning the ways of the world, oh my

Learning the ways of man

And I didn't really want a baby

and I guess I had a choice

But I just let it grow inside me

this persistent little voice

And I guess I got her off and running

and run off is what she did

And that's part of what I think about

think about that kid

So now there's nothing left to wish upon

except for passing cars

The cacophony of city lights

is drowning out the stars

This park bench is a life boat

and the rest a big dark sea

And I'm just gonna lie here until

something comes and finds me

Yeah I got this tired old face

still grinning most of the time

Just 'cause it don't have a better way

to express what's on it's mind

And I got this running monologue

entertaining in it's outrage

And I've got the air of an animal

That's been living in a cage

Every time I open my mouth

I take off my clothes

I'm raw and frostbitten from

being exposed

I got red scabby hands

and purple scabby feet

And you can smell me coming from

halfway down the street