You used to feel like a smoker
Shivering in the cold
Waiting outside the bar
Til the opener's over

But now you feel like a drinker
Twenty days off the sauce
Down at the liquor store
Trying to call your sponsor

You used to feel like the forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing [bad word] for your turn

You used to sound like a prophet
And everyone wanted to know
How you could tell the [bad word] Without losing that soft glow

But now you feel like a salesman
Closing another deal
Or some [bad word] ship captain
Raging after the white whale

You used to feel like the forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing [bad word] and then some

You used to feel like the prodigal returning
But now you hate what you've made
And you want to watch it burn