In kindergarten I learned a couple things
I had to know
How to read and tie my shoes and
give authority a straight-faced snow
But they never taught me why I
Couldn’t get to the highest shelf
I had to learn that by myself
In grade school I learned most of
the math that I still use
I learned a little about fighting
A little about paying dues
But they never taught me how
to feel when I was alone
I had to learn that on my own
In middle school I barely learned
to play the clarinet
Learned to curb my appetite
to back a losing bet
But they never taught me how
to set my music free
they left that one up to me
I high school I learned quite a bit
of lousy love advice
learned a little public speaking
learned a little vice
But they never taught me
what informs the endless rhyme
I had to learn that on my own time
In college I learned filling out
the forms and bending rules
Learned to operate a dozen
highly exoteric tools
They neglected to inform me
In this world the truth is a devalued coin
They let that happy fact jump out
and kick me in the groin
In kindergarten I did not
learn all I had to know
16 years more down the road
I’d learned so little more
Never learned as much as
it felt like I needed to know
You can’t take it with you when you go
You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here
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