Heart On My Sleeve - Vicious Circles

Born a bastard in a house on fire
You always tried to wash the ashes away but never quite succeeded
At an early age you started hiding and then the hiding turned into running
You ran as far as you could manage
But always ended up in another house on fire
You thought you could save the world
When all you really needed to save, was yourself
Born into shame, raised with the guilt
You promised that you would never pass that on

You were a searcher, and everywhere you looked there was a path unexplored
You found shelter in God, and salvation in a bottle
You longed to be loved, but you could only find it in their abuse
And they kept beating you, pushing you to the ground
And you kept on running, opening new paths to find yourself
But you could never run away from yourself

The ashes were still on your skin, the guilt was still in every breath
You carried the pain forward within
You were forever stuck in that burning house
Unable to get out and no one heard your cries

In this vicious circle
In this vicious circle
In this vicious circle
In this vicious circle

Then there was me, someone to love you unconditionally
But, with the breast milk, came everything you had tried to outrun
Your love was never enough, your love was never enough

Because the shame, the guilt and the ashes now live in me
Because the shame, the guilt and the ashes now live in me
Now I run, trying to break free, trying to find me

In this vicious circle
In this vicious circle
It's hard because the ashes have marked me
I, too, carry the guilt, the shame and the pain
Forward within
Forward within
You didn't mean for this to happen
But I'm stuck in the same house on fire

I'm my mother's daughter
I'm my mother's daughter
I'm my mother's daughter
I'm my mother's daughter