When I Was Young

When I was young there was fire in my lungs
And I just wanted someone to listen
Some ears to ignite with my pen and my tongue
Oh I knew it was all just a wish
But that don't mean it couldn't exist

Just seventeen, yeah, I gave up my gun
To play this guitar in the trenches
So I sang in the face of a man-eating sun
That Florida heat is a bitch
But I wouldn't trade nothing for it

When I was young
When I was young
I got myself broke and beat down, busted up
Left too many words on the tip of my tongue
But, oh, I was singing at the top of my lungs
Every night

Spinning wheels turning, I fell into love
Swallowed up in a sea of forgiveness
I've got a crooked killer heart, I've got bastard blood
But my God, oh, my God, I forgive
And you keep on paying for these second hand sins

When I was young
When I was young
I was hiding in corners to stay out of sight
Giving my best but still falling behind
But I was reborn in the dust and the pines
Oh, my
When I was young

Oh, and now I'm getting pushed and pulled apart
And I don't know where it ends or where it starts
And all of those neon lights
Outside of my window
Tell me it's not 11 yet
It's getting close though
And now I just don't know what to do

Then I said Matt, you just gotta get back
To those nights where you sat on the causeway
All you had was six strings and a heart that beat
And you knew that it had to mean something
Yeah you knew that it had to mean something
I just knew it was better than nothing

When I was young
When I was young
I played rock and roll music on broken guitars
Spent the whole night laying out under stars
She told me she loved me with her hand on her heart
Now I'm turning these pages and holding on tight
Living this life like I'm never gonna die
Living this life like I'm never gonna die
Living this life like I'm never gonna die, die, die
When I was young