I Don't Listen to You Anymore

Ryan would dread getting off of the school bus And walking down the driveway He knew dad was getting off work He started drinking early on Thursday It started with a simple command It led to a drunk backhand He always thought Ryan would say something that he didn't say Oh he said he didn't mean it He said he wouldn't beat him if he just acted okay He said that it was his fault Grinding him down like salt Every night Ryan prayed he'd run away That's when his dad came into the room Discovered he was gone Ryan was running across the grown-up lawn Screaming out the lyrics to a made-up song He sang I don't listen to you anymore I'll join the army Or even the peace corps You can have all of your screaming and all your liquor stores Tired of waking bleeding on the floor Seeing that somebody kicked open my door I'm leaving this house forever Grabbed all my clothes from the drawer I don't listen to you anymore Ryan ran off to Atlanta Now he's got a job Ten years later That's when he got a call Dad was doing bad And he was sitting on his last days His sister told him that he should come home She said "nobody should ever have to die alone" Ryan sat there and paused, declined, then he hung up the telephone He broke out a pen And starting writing a letter Dove into the past Wrote what he could remember From the long damn nights to the second that he was free He crossed his I's and dotted his T's He wanted it to be perfect for his father to read He closed it out at the end with a special note He wrote I don't care about you anymore I joined the army And toured with the peace corps Thanks to all of your screaming and your liquor stores No more waking up bleeding on the floor I don't have anyone kicking down my door I left that house forever Took all my clothes from the drawer I don't care about you anymore I don't care about you anymore I don't care about you anymore