yeah you woke up and huddled under your covers
thinking that you've had enough
and you're all mixed up
so you stood up abrupt and got up your blood
and figured it was all or nothing
and you said good luck
as you signed your name to what you left behind
opened the door and took a look outside
and your cigarette hit you like the very first time
you had one
yeah it choked you up
it was the house where you spent your first banged up years
and you watched it getting smaller in the rear view mirror
and you knew it was the last time you'd see that, baby

so you gotta do something now that you busted out
and you can feel the crush
and you gotta adjust
you been too long doing all the same things
hoping for a different result
but you gotta hustle
cause you're getting cold and spending your last dime
you don't know how to go slower cause you never tried
you're strung out and you're thinking it's time
you found love
but that's a harder drug
you think you've been around, maybe you've been hurt
but you've never felt anything on this earth
that can ever prepare you for the first time baby

and sure enough somebody answered your call
and he wanted your secrets and you told them all
and he took your hand and started pulling you up
and you thought you might finally make it over that wall
but he let you go, baby, and you crashed down
he didn't even turn around to see you fall
and the first time you felt that
you knew you could never take yourself back
you gave more than you thought you had
and now you gotta learn to live without that
and you never thought you'd see the day
when you'd be the kind to lock your love away
but there's always a first time baby

so you took a good hard look at your condition
and you sized it up
said love was nothing 
next to nickels and dimes
and you figured it was time you got some
and baby, who could judge
you do what you gotta do to survive
when the medicine came you closed your eyes
long as someone was making it worth your while
every time you swallowed the stuff
and you got a rush
when you'd put another dollar on top of that stack
even though you sold something that you couldn't buy back
and you knew that wouldn't be the last time, baby

and they tossed you out when the new blood arrived
and you were back looking in from the outside
wondering who knew
if you were dead or alive
and you rolled a little something and you rode the yellow train
to the end of the line and you got real high
on the wonder wheel ride just wondering why
and the first time you felt that
you knew you could never take yourself back
you realized that you had it made
but left out everything that mattered, babe
and after all you'd done you never thought
kidding yourself would be your worst crime
but there's always a first time, baby

and now you're just a little bit older
next time will be a little bit easier
and now you're just a little bit older
next time will be a little bit easier
and now you're just a little bit older
next time will be a little bit easier

when you found me i was lying face down
i could barely remember how to keep both eyes open
cause they'd been blackened so much
and when you came around i put my hands up
and covered those marks where i got broken
but you showed me your scars and my eyes focused
and you opened your arms
and the first time i felt that
i crossed myself and i fell fast
i swore off the taste in years past
but baby won't you pour me up another glass
cause we're on the road to hell and back
they're down there rolling out the welcome mat
we