Tricks & Illusions

I was a kid with a knack For tricks and illusions With sleight of hand I fooled them all I would practice my act In my bedroom secluded While mom and dad fought through the wall I took comfort in performing It directed all the noises In my head with no northern star Nowadays I still lie low Until the showtime comes I guess we are who we are Drunk in the street with my friends City lights, San Francisco On the 43, poems from my pen Tension within the band Got the Tascam from Carlos And recorded all the songs in my head I wound up with the label Split it all down the middle Seemed fair to me At least at the start Until I asked for a contract revision Business ruined our friendship And I lost control of my art I stared out the window For years in a van And I let the crowd know Who I really am By the time that I got home Broken, hungover again I'd lost everything I'd known I'd become a stranger among men A stranger among men A stranger among men Living slow, take it easy these days With my wife and our dog John Trying to write songs for adverts & films Convince myself that it's okay 'Cause if I hook a big one I'll be living off of my music still It's not exactly how I planned it But it ain't bad for a bandit Who came up singing street corner tunes I'm not saying that it's over But surrender's much closer Than when I was counting cards in my room Thinking of all the magic I would do I stared out the window For years in a van And I let the crowd know Who I really am By the time that I got home Broken, hungover again I'd lost everything I'd known I'd become a stranger among men Stranger among men A stranger A stranger among men A stranger I was a kid with a knack For tricks and illusions With sleight of hand I fooled them all