Slow Dull Burn

and Anna once told me "son,
you've got a lot to learn
and that living life is easier
with a contract in your hand"
so she pretends that she is doing fine
while she's just barely getting by
she says that someday she'll get this right

"but that still never stopped the thoughts
I guess I fell into a life I didn't want"

she said "so don't believe that lie you're told
that if you love something you should let it go
because having faith in what you thought was right
ain't worth the sleepless nights
and you'll toss and turn, and wonder why
you cry those tears through half shut eyes,
I guess the slow dull burn of love
just ain't for me"

well my friend Michael painted pages
from books he read, he said it never changes
the reoccuring characters
act so one dimensional
it's not the happily ever after
that gets to him, it's that no one questions
if this was meant to last

"and maybe I'll wake up feeling a little less dead
but there is still no life in this empty bed"

he said "you can try and try but it's not enough
when the books you read all turn to dust
and every word and happy ending
comes with a clause
where every mention of "I do"
is filled with divorce lawyers and IOU's
I guess the slow dull burn of love
just isn't real"

Baby, It's a half-life we're living these days