My tape recorder, 
it must be lyin' 
'cause this I just can't believe. 
I hear a voice that's cryin', 
that's not me. 

The wheel goes round. 
I hear a sound.  [bad word]  out all wrong. 
And I swear to you I never wrote that song. 

I been livin' in my own shell so long: 
the only place I ever feel at home. 

And oh, that music, 
I hate those lyrics. 
It stayed inside me so long. 
And I swear to you I never wrote that song. 

But pardon me, 
I'm not lookin' for sympathy, 
Not sympathy. 
I'm just thinking out loud. 
the melody, 
it goes nowhere pointlessly. 
Silence please. 

I been livin' in my own shell so long: 
the only place I ever feel at home. 

And oh, that music, 
I hate those lyrics. 
It stayed inside me so long. 
And I swear to you I never.