I Don't Listen to You Anymore

Ryan would dread getting off of the school bus
And walking down the driveway
He knew dad was getting off work
He started drinking early on Thursday
It started with a simple command
It led to a drunk backhand
He always thought Ryan would say something that he didn't say

Oh he said he didn't mean it
He said he wouldn't beat him if he just acted okay
He said that it was his fault
Grinding him down like salt
Every night Ryan prayed he'd run away

That's when his dad came into the room
Discovered he was gone
Ryan was running across the grown-up lawn
Screaming out the lyrics to a made-up song

He sang
I don't listen to you anymore
I'll join the army
Or even the peace corps
You can have all of your screaming and all your liquor stores
Tired of waking bleeding on the floor
Seeing that somebody kicked open my door
I'm leaving this house forever
Grabbed all my clothes from the drawer
I don't listen to you anymore
Ryan ran off to Atlanta
Now he's got a job
Ten years later
That's when he got a call
Dad was doing bad
And he was sitting on his last days
His sister told him that he should come home
She said "nobody should ever have to die alone"
Ryan sat there and paused, declined, then he hung up the telephone

He broke out a pen
And starting writing a letter
Dove into the past
Wrote what he could remember
From the long damn nights to the second that he was free
He crossed his I's and dotted his T's
He wanted it to be perfect for his father to read
He closed it out at the end with a special note

He wrote

I don't care about you anymore
I joined the army
And toured with the peace corps
Thanks to all of your screaming and your liquor stores
No more waking up bleeding on the floor
I don't have anyone kicking down my door
I left that house forever
Took all my clothes from the drawer
I don't care about you anymore
I don't care about you anymore

I don't care about you anymore