Playing Pretend

(album: ...When Scars Become Art - 2018)

Played in the dirt
Embraced every quirk
Always getting hurt
And we did not want to eat lunch before dessert
The messiest hair
Life without a care
Say your little prayers before you wake up again and everything's fair

Oh, the days of growing up
Where drawing in the lines was tough
And mom's approval was enough
But it became lust and drugs and filling up our cup

Well, I wanna know when I was stripped of my innocence
And trading cards turned into trading hearts
And I wanna know when joy became just a past tense
And a band-aid no longer healed all our scars
When every relationship had an end
Well, I wanna go back to playing pretend

Always sucking thumbs
Clothes covered in crumbs
Everything was fun and great and we though that we'd stay forever young
Innocent laughs
Night late bubble baths
No regretting past mistakes or always having goodbyes and lasts

Oh, the days of growing up
Where drawing in the lines was tough
And mom's approval was enough
But it became grief, mistrust, and hands held down by cuffs

Well, I wanna know when fame and talent got spread apart (I wanna know)
And "dumb" and "rich" became the new "smart," oh
And I wanna know when "beauty" meant hating who you are
And a plastic face and body became art
When "authentic" meant following the trends
Well, I wanna go back to playing pretend