You used to feel like a smoker
Shivering in the cold
Waiting outside the bar
Til the opener's over
But now you feel like a drinker
Twenty days off the sauce
Down at the liquor store
Trying to call your sponsor
You used to feel like the forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing tantrums for your turn
You used to sound like a prophet
And everyone wanted to know
How you could tell the truth
Without losing that soft glow
But now you feel like a salesman
Closing another deal
Or some drunk ship captain
Raging after the white whale
You used to feel like the forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing tantrums and then some
You used to feel like the prodigal returning
But now you hate what you've made
And you want to watch it burn