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