Seventeen

I was only seventeen
Living out a reckless dream
Riding those summer streets
To the corner of high and thirteen
Me and the graffiti boys
Running too wild and too bold
Looking for grown men's toys
Out at that corner store
Well, they threw the money to me
And somebody's I.D

I was in the parking lot
Scared as hell
Sending sixteen dollars down a wishing well
Two bottles of wine
Those red and blue lights
Took a trip downtown for the very first time
Watching my old life
Flash before my eyes
Like I was seventeen

She was from across the tracks
With a private school laugh
We were both falling too fast
Down a river that wouldn't last
It was only one night
And our first time

I was in the parking lot
Scared as hell
Sending sixteen dollars down a wishing well
I held her tight
Between those yellow lines
She sat there crying 'bout a miscarried life
Watching my old life
Flash before my eyes
Like I was seventeen

Oh, it was a lifetime ago
And I prayed for mercy
Walking on down that road
I met the woman of my dreams
She said "yes" to me
And she's saying "baby, I'm late"
"Never this late"
"I'm feeling a change"
"We should find out either way"
And I'm grabbing my keys
And I'm shutting the front door
I can hardly breathe
Driving that familiar road
And I'm parked between those yellow lines
Looking out at us
Don't know whether to laugh or whether to cry

I'm in the parking lot
Scared as hell
Sending sixteen dollars down a wishing well
Two pink lines
Or maybe just one
Could be my daughter or it could be my son
Watching our old lives
Flash before my eyes
Like I was seventeen

Funny how the years
Switch around the tears that way
Like I was seventeen