Quietest Friend

Staving off rejection
 Which always hurt like hell
 I took the devil's bargain
 Made a stranger of myself
 If anything was wrong I couldn't tell
 So I didn't see it coming
 But now it's pretty clear
 I traded my own wisdom
 For a jury of my peers
 I ignored you for 30 years
 You don't have to tell me
 How hard it must have been
 For you to let me in
 Nothing lasts forever
 Now I understand
 I hurt you again
 My quietest friend
 ♪
 Fifth grade in the lunchroom
 Fickle friends were telling jokes
 Making you the punchline
 Of some random thing I wrote
 They were looking to me
 To land the final blow
 Just to be included
 Went straight up to my head
 I thought the joke too stupid
 For it to matter what I said
 I was wrong
 But I went along with it
 You don't have to tell me
 How hard it must have been
 For you to let me in
 Nothing lasts forever
 Now I understand
 I hurt you again
 My quietest friend
 We could write me some reminders, I'd memorize them
 I could sing them to myself and whoever's listening
 I could put them on a record about my hometown
 Sitting here with pen and paper
 I'm listening now