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Best to say nothing at all, |
|
no shot from the hip; |
|
you might say something appalling, |
|
a confidence tripped off the tongue. |
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Better to keep the mouth zipped, |
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your silence preserved. |
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Go through the night with your lips sealed, |
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for truth is best served by discretion. |
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Best to refrain, |
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don't excuse or explain, |
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no, engage that dull brain |
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before speaking. |
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I should have listened, for once, to my own advice, |
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I should have paid attention. |
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I was so eager to have my say, |
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I fell in love with the sound of my own damn voice. |
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I never thought how offensive the line might seem |
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if taken out of context. |
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My best intentions all fall away |
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and it's no laughing matter, |
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now I can't pack that jabberwock back in the box. |
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No way to take back the hasty phrase, |
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no chance to unspeak the sentence |
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that hangs in the air, |
|
held up by the jaw-dropped silence. |
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I know you're going to walk away. |
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Although I make my retraction |
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it can't be unsaid |
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and my foot's in my mouth for good. |
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Clearly I'd eat my words |
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when all is said and done. |
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By now you'd think I might have learned |
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to bite my tongue. |
