ballpoint pens archive

lyrics

you don’t wanna fall in love with a girl again
but you don’t wanna go home with a girl again

i’ve been kicking myself ‘cause i could’ve redeemed my sins
but you had to go off and get drunk alone again

you haven’t learned nine times, what makes ten different?
you had to go off and ruin someone’s life again

but you never meant to hurt anybody
you’re going out to find yourself, well, you mark my words:
just leave me out
you’re out of clothes and you’re runnin’ out of money
where you gonna find yourself in the next few months?
just leave me out

starin’ me dead in the face, i thought you were my friend
but when you come down, i guess i’m gonna make amends

well, my face is all fucked up. what the hell happened to it?
i guess i got into a fight with a bottle of liquor

your sister’s gonna keep me in love, which no one could do
i keep telling myself that i’m not gonna kill you too

‘cause you never meant to hurt anybody
you’re going out to find yourself, well, you mark my words:
just leave me out
you’re out of clothes and you’re runnin’ out of money
where you gonna find yourself in the next few months?
just leave me out

you never meant to hurt anybody
you’re going out to find yourself, well, you mark my words:
just leave me out
you’re out of clothes and you’re runnin’ out of money
where you gonna find yourself in the next few months?
just leave me out

“Mark my words” is a dark, angry song with a soaring indie rock chorus. If “nine times out of ten” was his way of writing about his own self-destruction with humor and levity, this is him confronting it head-on. Its lyrics even reference that earlier track.

It’s the longest song on this collection by far, and Ross’s original version is even longer. I cut two couplets where his singing was so buried in the mix that I couldn’t bring it to the forefront no matter how I tried.

Also worth listening to is his earlier version of the song, with a completely different verse melody.