"Been Down So Long..." Jeff Shultz, 1968-1986

 

You tried to come to terms with your own pain

That night, drunk as a honeybee in the spring.

Now you are riven, a straw doll in the rain.

 

Budweiser was your youthful song's refrain,

pacing freighters like some solemn speed king,

You tried to come to terms with your own pain,

 

but never did.  Your mind was playing insane

games, glued to the tracks with your brain smoking.

Now you are riven, a straw doll in the rain.

 

I understood.  Yet why, bastard, did you remain

aloof?  Craving comfort while the Doors would sing,

You tried to come to terms with your own pain.

 

I guess, then, you welcomed that oncoming train

that barreled you into the cool of early spring,

Now you are riven, a straw doll in the rain.

 

It is over.  What did you stand to gain?

I know you better, now, but here's the painful thing:

You tried to come to terms with your own pain,

Now you are riven, a straw doll in the rain.