Play Me Backwards

[Intro]

You don't have to play me backwards

To get the meaning of my verse

You don't have to die and go to Hell

To feel the Devil's curse

[Verse 1]

Well, I thought my life was a photograph

On the family Christmas card

Kids all dressed in buttons and bows

And lined up in the yard

Were the golden days of childhood

So lyrical and warm

Or did the picture start to fade

On the day that I was born?

[Chorus]

I've seen them light the candles

And I've heard them bang the drum

And I've cried, "Mama, I'm cold as ice"

And I got no place to run

[Verse 2]

Let the night begin, there's a pop of skin

And the sudden rush of scarlet

There's a little boy riding on a goat's head

And a little girl playing the harlot

There's a sacrifice in an empty church

Of sweet little baby Rose

And a man in a mask from Mexico

Is peeling off my clothes

[Chorus]

I've seen them light the candles

And I've heard them bang the drum

And I've cried, "Mama, I'm cold as ice"

And I got no place to run

[Bridge]

So I'm paying for protection

Smoking out the truth

Chasing recollections

Nailing down the proof

[Verse 3]

Don't have to play me backwards

To get the meaning of my verse

You don't have to die and go to Hell

To feel the Devil's curse

And I'll stand before your altar

And tell everything I know

I've come to claim my childhood

At the chapel of baby Rose

[Outro]

I've seen them light the candles

And I've heard them bang the drum

I've seen them light the candles

And I've heard them bang the drum