Bad Wisdom

Suzanne Vega

Mother the doctor knows something is wrong

Cause my body has strange information

He's looked in my eyes and knows I'm not a child

But he doesn't dare ask the right question



Mother my friends are no longer my friends

And the games we once played have no meaning

I've gone serious and shy and they can't figure why

So they've left me to my own daydreaming



What price to pay

For bad wisdom

What price to pay

For bad wisdom

Too young to know

Too much too soon

Bad wisdom

Bad wisdom



Mother you've taught me the laws are so fine

If I'm good that I will be protected

I've fallen through the crack and there's no getting back

And I'll never trust whoever gets elected



Mother your eyes have gone suddenly cold

And it wasn't what I was expecting

Once I did think that I'd find comfort there

And instead you've gone hard and suspecting



What price to pay

For bad wisdom

What price to pay

For bad wisdom

Too young to know

Too much too soon

Bad wisdom

Bad wisdom



Mother I'm cut at the root like a weed

Cause there's no one to hear my small story

Just like a woman who walks in the street

I will pay for my life with my body



What price to pay

For bad wisdom

What price to pay

For bad wisdom

Too young to know

Too much too soon

Bad wisdom

Bad wisdom