Biography
Performances
Music
Lyrics
Press
Photographs
YouTube
Spotify
Pandora
Deezer
Apple
Facebook
Instagram

If I Could Speak

Music and Lyric by David W. Jacobsen
Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved.

If I could speak to 18-year-old me
What would I say?
It doesn't matter
I remember who I was
I wouldn't listen anyway

18-year-old me would say I sold out
Why take my advice
I don't regret selling
Just wish I'd got a better price

18-year-old me with the world ahead
What does he know?
His upturned nose to the things we'd choose
You know where he can go

He'd say I'm a little bitter
About what I never got
He'd say I'm a little bitter
But actually, I'm a lot

18-year-old me would hate this song
He'd tell me it's lame
But if I heard what he was working on
I'd probably feel the same

I can't speak to 18-year-old me
You can't change the past
The role you play
That's who you are
You won't be recast

I guess I'm a little bitter
About where I never went
But most days, I don't think about it
I'm mostly content

Notes:

"If you could travel back in time, what would you say to yourself?" is just a stupid question for so many reasons. Beyond the butterfly effect and the implausibility of time travel, what makes you think the old version of you would be interested in your advice? Do teenagers really trust the word of has-been sell-outs, even if the has-been sell-out just happens to be their inevitable future self? You're going to touch the flame and find out it is hot for yourself. Without the scars, you won't become you.

From the album Expecting Different Results
Next Song
Last Song