Knowing How the World Works Lyrics

Papa don't preach...

Papa don't preach,
I beseech you man,
your devilish deeds teach
more than a teacher can.
What have we learned?
Which lessons won't stick?
Tracing the edges of wisdom and s***.

Knowing how the world works
is not knowing how to work the world.
...

You're tracing it's movements,
predict it's every turn;
You watch down from above
and record what you learn.
You're graphing the data
and tagging up our ears.
Complex simulations
with graph paper gears.

Knowing how the world works
is not knowing how to work the world.
...

Wistful in his widows peak,
so to speak, he stands.
A son confronts his father with his
hat in his hands.
All the things you never could do
I never can.
All the things I blamed on you
I see I now do too.
A handful of stories,
a house full of cards,
a mouthful of sorrys,
and a heart full up of scars.
I take a handful of you
and take a handful me,
I put it in my mouth
and chew it up so thoroughly.