Lyrics

VARIATIONS

I screwed up a time or two or twelve - and ended up in a cell.
The hole that I dug was never deeper.
But a man that I met inside, saw me alone and took me aside,
Listened to me better than a preacher.
Tears in my eyes, I confessed to him the mess I made,
One lousy mistake after another.
His hand on my shoulder, he said “son, you know I’m older
And you may not want to hear what I have to say

He said there are no mistakes in life - only variations.
Every path you take is a lesson to be learned.
And your road may twist and turn
In a way you hadn’t planned,
But that doesn’t mean that it’s the wrong way.
It’s just your way.

So I took his meanin’ plain to heart – and tried to figure it out.
‘Course ‘cause it’s me, there were some detours along the way.
I got out and did my best to take that straight and narrow track.
Changing course ain’t easy - is all that I can say.
But I found some folks to help me, and a girl who saw the best in me.
And finally set out on the road I’m travelin’ today.
And I came back to the old man’s words, truest that I ever heard.
Said them like a kind of prayer all along the way.

Then a day ago my five-year-old
Come to me, his head hung low
Same tears in his eyes – I could’ve sworn that they were mine.
And as he told his tale of woe,
I thought of that time years ago
And the man who owned the best advice I know.

I said there are no mistakes in life - only variations.
Every path you take is a lesson to be learned.
And your road may twist and turn
In a way you hadn’t planned,
But that doesn’t mean that it’s the wrong way.
It’s just your way.