Daddy where you been, been looking for you again
Daddy where you been, been looking for you again
Bursts of sunlight contrast with long nights
And all that you did in darkness attention
We say the sun will rise again
Pizza on the steps, a week's sustenance
Pizza on the steps, a weak sustenance
Sorry I can't be there, sorry you can't be here
This is growing up all on your own
Look at us making it on our own
We race the clock we made
Before we fall into our graves
Your suffering children while you're having a ball
You're suffering children while you're having a ball
Splattering the walls, the flag and us all
A crowning achievement, is this what you meant
As we say I pledge allegiance
Gilded rooms where you're laid
Hum along to the mess you've made
*What a fool this man who keeps, what a fool this man who keeps
What a fool this man who keeps, what a fool this man who keeps
A cemetery in his pocket
I am going back in to turn the lights on
Inside a burning house
Going back in
To turn the lights on in your house...
Going back in
To turn the lights on in your house...
*The last verse of the song is essentially lifted, almost verbatim, from a poem written by Stephen’s creative writing professor/mentor from Le Moyne College, Patrick Lawler:
“Poet
what a fool
this man who keeps
a cemetery in his pocket.
he is going back
to turn on the lights
inside a burning house.”
Written August 2026
Berwick Wednesdays (No. 8): “Your Burning House”
