I Don’t Know About Love

I was always the bad one
Born on the wrong side of town
My pa would beat me just for fun
Kicking me when I was down
Time I was just five years old
And I had the coffee brewin’
He stumbled in, knocked me out cold
Guess he didn’t know what he was doin’

He would lie on his dirty bed
Sucking on his sour liquor
Telling tales of the life he’d led
While I prayed for death to come quicker
Then one night, as black as tar
The fever filled his head
I whispered, “I love you, Pa”
With his dying breath he said….

I don’t know about love
I don’t know what it is
I don’t know how to receive it
I don’t know how to give
I don’t want love
And I sure don’t seek it
So, if it’s alright with you,
You go ahead and keep it.

I was just outta high school
Was a natural risk taker
I broke down every rule
I was a true trail blazer
Women wanted me, both smart and dumb
I had them off and on my bike
Broke their hearts when it was done
I guess that was the kinda life I liked

Later, I met one wild girl
Crazy as a cat in a cage
She’d dream of ridin’ the world
A mix of beauty and rage
“You know, I sorta love you”
She smiled as she pulled me to bed
Right then I knew that we were through
As I touched her face and said….

I don’t know about love
I don’t know what it is
I don’t know how to receive it
I don’t know how to give
I don’t want love
And I sure don’t seek it
So, if it’s alright with you,
You go ahead and keep it.

Five years passed, I was driving East
My mind was tail spinning
Thoughts of her had never ceased
Now my crazy girl was ringing
Asked if I recalled the gas station
Where once me and her made out
She’d had a change in her situation
We had a lot to talk about

It was a clear still night in July
Stars shone like crystals on the sea
I saw her truck, pulled in close by
Then she handed the child to me
“You broke my heart, now you break his”
She said, as she turned to leave
“He’s yours and I have a life to live
And I’m taking my reprieve.”

I don’t know about love
I don’t know what it is
I don’t know how to receive it
And I don’t know how to give
I don’t want love
And I sure don’t seek it
So, if it’s alright with you,
You go ahead and keep it.

(Musical Tag)

The boy took my hand and I heard him say
As we stared down the road ahead
“I’m gonna love you, if that’s okay?”
I turned to him,
I turned to him,
I turned to him and I said….

I don’t know about love
I don’t know what it is
I don’t know how to receive it
I don’t know how to give
I don’t want love
And I sure don’t seek it
But if you give it to me,
I promise you I’ll keep it.
If you give it to me,
If you give it to me,
If you give it to me,
I’ll keep it.