IÂ'm gonna tell you why it is that I drink my days away,
ItÂ's cause the beer helps the cigarettes go down.
And IÂ'm gonna tell you why it is that I cry my nights away,
ItÂ's cause the tears help the memories come out

Why tell the truth when itÂ's easier to lie
The bank man said with one closed eye
TheyÂ'll take from you and give to those up high
DonÂ't let Â'em cut your wings before you learn to fly

IÂ'm gonna tell you why it is that all my days are blue,
ItÂ's the sounds of the tearing of my heart.
And IÂ'm gonna tell you how it was that I came to lose my way,
ItÂ's cause my dice were loaded from the start.
And the whiskey helps the memories depart.

Why tell the truth when itÂ's easier to lie
The bank man said with one closed eye
TheyÂ'll take from you and give to those up high
DonÂ't let Â'em cut your wings before you learn to fly

IÂ'm gonna tell you why it was and why it is again,
They can rob you with a gun or with a knife.
IÂ'm gonna tell you why it is IÂ'm greeting you with a smile,
IÂ've been robbed before and I wonÂ't be robbed again.
Why tell the truth when itÂ's easier to lie
The bank man said with one closed eye
TheyÂ'll take from you and give to those up high
DonÂ't let Â'em cut your wings before you learn to fly