Just One Good Eye

[Verse 1] (Spoken/Rap) Yeah… One for the money, two for the show Three chords to heaven, a decade ago Lived on a Greyhound, a backstage, a floor Jack for the courage, a knock on the door Screamed at the demons, they screamed right on back A chemical symphony, painted in black The roar was a baptism, the silence a sin Another town, another hotel we’d never check in… The strings were my scripture, the feedback, my prayer A different girl's perfume tangled in my hair A life in fast-forward, a blur and a blaze Chasing the ghost of that first honest praise. [Pre-Chorus] They said, "Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful c****e" But the punchline's a hospital, a cold, sterile force… And the encore… [Chorus] (Gritty Rock) NOW THE B**T'S A SIREN IN MY SHATTERED SKULL! A one-eyed jack, and the world's grown dull! This half-a-face in the mirror don't lie… I traded the spotlight… FOR A BLOODSHOT SKY! Yeah, I rode the lightning… but it struck me down Just a whisper and a tremble where there once was sound… A ROCK AND ROLL CASUALTY, CHECK THE PRICE! PAID IN PULSES, PARALYSIS, AND SACRIFICE! [Verse 2] (Rap) The right side's a stranger, it just won't comply My pick-holding hand… just waves a goodbye The words get all tangled behind my numb smile A prisoner doing a perp-walk down the aisle I used to command ‘em, a thousand at once Now I argue with nurses over my lunch The phantom limb twitches… playing a solo To a memory of fire, now just dying ember glow… And the left eye… man, the left eye’s a curtain A permanent midnight, for certain, for certain Where there used to be faces, and neon, and flight Now it’s just… a void… feeding the night. [Pre-Chorus] They sold me the legend, the leather, the lace But they forgot to mention the fall from grace… Is there an encore? [Chorus] ‘CAUSE THE B**T'S A SIREN IN MY SHATTERED SKULL! A one-eyed jack, and the world's grown dull! This half-a-face in the mirror screams why… Did I trade the spotlight… FOR A BLOODSHOT SKY? I rode the lightning… yeah, it struck me down Just a tremor and a mumble where there once was sound… A ROCK AND ROLL CASUALTY, SIGN THE RECEIPT! PAID IN TREMORS, IN DARKNESS, AND A PROMISE BROKEN CHEAP! [Bridge] The stroke of a pen… the stroke of a clock… The stroke that landed… like a bone-deep shock. It didn't come raging, no hurricane wall… Just a quiet betrayal… that took… took it all. I can’t even read the plaques on the wall… Just shadows and echoes where I used to stand tall. The right side’s a statue… the left’s a black sea… And the music inside… is screaming to be free… [Guitar Solo] [Outro] So you want the story?… The truth, not the lie? It ain’t all glory… watching a world die… Through one… good… eye. Yeah… Just one… good… eye…