Bleeding Heart

Dear Absent Parent

(From the album Pains of Growing Up)

Dear absent parent
I'm not naming any specifics here
But it's apparent
That you never felt the need to be here
Yeah, it hurts
And it's kinda hard to put in words
But I'll try to explain it verse by verse
The way I feel

Hey, how's the wife? How's the kids?
How's the hundred other hoes you fucked with?
Did you love them? Do they know you?
This seems wrong
But it's been true all along

You're a bastard
And that's about all there is to say
How should I react if
You decide to show up one of these days?
I know it's not the nicest
To blow up in your face
I used to be a little kinder
But as you get older, feelings change sometimes
You're a foolish bastard
And I'm running out of things to say
That rhyme

Dear not here parent
Do I ever cross your mind?
Would you care if
Tomorrow was the last day of my life
Soon I'll be in college
I'm not perfect, I have problems
Yeah, it hurts
And it confused me as a little girl
It's not the worst
There're plenty of things that've hurt me more

Hey, how's the wife? How's the kids?
There's a hundred different lives you fucked with
Do you feel any guilt? Any shame?
You and stepdad are quite the same
Both playing an abusive game

You're a bastard
And that's about all there is to say
How should I react if
You decide to show up one of these days?
I know it's not the nicest
To blow up in your face
I used to be a little kinder
But as you get older, feelings change sometimes
You're a foolish bastard
And I'm running out of things to say
That rhyme

Dear Mr. Dad
She was never really supposed to get pregnant
My timing's bad
Here I come, I guess I wrecked it
Found out when I was nine
My real dad is a real lame guy
But I won't cry
It's not the worst part of my life

Hey, how's the wife? How's the kids?
How's the hundred other hoes you fucked with?
Did they love you? Did they know?
This seems wrong
But it's been true all along

I'm not the worst kid in the world
You're the blank in my ancestry
I was just a little girl
And I need a dad I know won't hurt me