he tells me what it was like to be in jail/prison

i always said i would change
that this would be the last time

last time i would miss halloween with my daughter
and thanksgiving and christmas

but that day never came
i always had time to hang out with the boys

the years turned round and round
my wife finally left me and went back to school

but i told myself i would change
always the same old lie

and i bought a whole roll of tickets
on the incarceration merry-go- round

that brass ring was just too tempting
even though it was always just beyond my grasp

going round and round
the only thing changing

my family becoming a blur
then they were gone

leaving me with the guys i knew getting on and off
till the day it dawned on me

i know them better than my family.