1996 - Brand New

She was just seventeen

Pious and pretty with a deadly disease

And the weight of the world on her prosthetic shoulder

And by the summer of '96

Her body was cracked like porcelain

Just like some Precious Moments collectible

In a hospital gown and a big, bright golden halo

And so three cheers for my morose and grieving pals

And now let’s hear it for the tears that I’ve welled up

We’ve come too far to have to give it all up now

We live lives that are rich and blessed

And we’ll burn for how we transgress

Now I’ve mastered the art

Of the open-casket prayer and the singing guitar

And I’ve found the rewards weren’t half what I’d hoped for

And meanwhile we all feigned hope and mirth

As her parents went on and lied to her

All about the success of the surgeries

And how my ex-girlfriend was now sleeping with her fiancé

And so three cheers for my morose and grieving pals

And now let’s hear it for the tears that I’ve welled up

We’ve come too far to have to give it all up now

We live lives that are rich and blessed

And we’ll burn for how we transgress

If there’s any justice in heaven

Then God won’t let me in

He’ll lock the gates and take my weekend pass away

With a sympathetic wave they’ll see me off

Reserve my golden crown while I am cursed to walk the earth for millennia

I know I deserve worse but it terrifies me and I can’t take it anymore

And so three cheers for my morose and grieving pals

And now let’s hear it for the tears that I’ve welled up

We’ve come too far to have to give it all up now

We live lives that are rich and blessed

And we’ll burn for how we transgress