There Are Rules Lyrics

There are rules but you don't know them
It's going to keep you guessing
Make a thousand big mistakes
Learn a thousand lessons
Someday someone looks at you
In a way you can't explain
And you keep it in your memory
With the tea leaves and the cold falling rain
There are rules but you don't know them
Your Grandma had a mandolin
The fiddle you were given
Was too hard and flat to fit your chin
And you played it badly
Always aching to the bone
To feel that mandolin's round belly
Pressing close against your own

There are rules but you don't know them
You can only suspect
Theme and variation, reap and sow, last straw
Cause and effect
There are rules but you don't know them
There were mannequins in all the stores
That had no hands. Their arms just ended
At the wrist or sometimes before
And of course it made you wonder
Course you just took what you got
But one day you might meet a stranger who'll say
"Keep your dirty hands to yourself, kid"
After that your hands would always feel dirty
Whether they were or not

There are rules but you don't know them
You can only suspect
Theme and variation, reap and sow, last straw
Cause and effect
There are rules but you don't know them
You reach to touch his silky limbs
And feel the universe contract
To fit the s***e you make with him
And your mind says "this is it"
Or "sweet romance"
Then it's gone. It's just a movie
Camera pulls back, pans to the scenery
It's a place you thought you'd like to go
But never had the chance

There are rules but you don't know them
You can only suspect
Theme and variation, reap and sow, last straw
Cause and effect