What I Mean

You never think the word before you speak it
You just let it tumble out stark naked
I admit that maybe I admire
Words that deliver heat and carry fire

But perhaps there's something to be said for timing
For knowing where and when to chime in
Instead of turning ground already fallow
Letting fly lead balloons that you can't swallow

I am trying to say what I mean

But it's true that in the moment
It's almost impossible
To resist saying something
Something you don't mean

Then you realize that you just let it
Fly out and now you regret it
And it's lying there with your name carved into it
No long apology's gonna undo it

I am trying to say what I mean

Silence is much more than golden
When a losing hand is all you're holding
Nothing left but tawdry invitations
To late-night cheap hotels behind gas stations

And it's true that in the moment
It's almost impossible
To resist doing something
Something you don't mean

Oh the trenches and the fields
Are filled with worn out old appeals
And arguments that didn't solve a thing

And the high road's getting choked with smog
From armies in retreat
Where once you could hear a robin sing
Could hear a robin sing

I am trying to say what I mean

I am trying to say what I mean