Tattoos Fade

There are rumors going around.
You can feel history coming about.
You're never sure just where it's going to stay.
You suffer through lingering doubt.
You wish someone would spell it out,
but things don't work that way.
There's so much going on, faces in the crowd
belong to a team on which you'd love to play.
You're hoping for some permanence,
but there really is no place for this.
Your tattoos, they're gonna fade.

Our youth like wax drips down
in puddles around our legs.
It hardens and catches us to the quick.
You're putting a lot of importance in
something you're just playing a part in.
You should take what action you can get.
What you're sure you're carving in stone
on your flesh.
You'd do better living more and commemorating less.
There's much I don't want to remember.
There's not a thing I'd wish last forever.
You're tattoos are gonna fade.

It's not as important to persevere as to doubt.
When you're so angry, nothing matters.
You be brave 'cause everything counts, and
I'd never be so unsubtle
as to write this on my sleeve
unless I was sure I could change it
when I was ready to leave.
There's much I don't want to remember,
There's not a thing I would wish last forever.
Or let me put this another way:
I know you're hoping for some permanence,
but there really is no truth to this.
Your tattoos, they're gonna fade.