Joe hasn't been hurt
says he "can love freely"
says his girl likes him for it
no need to hold back
ain't nothin' to be worried about-
if she falls for you
she's gotta, if it's ever gonna work
We talked about 
"me versus her"
how self serving is good, at the start
'cause she needs to love you first
later, you can love her 
in the ways she needs
in the ways that don't come natural
consider it a lesson learned
---
---
My friend Joe hit it on the head
Said "I don't know her, but from the way you describe her,
"You're too rough for a girl like that"
I guess I did know that
I picked up on that as soon as I met her
Told her she was acting tougher than she really was
and that makes more sense now
Once I consider what happened
And how her best friend told everyone, everything
And how her mom wasn't ever gonna be happy with her being her
That's a big burden to carry through childhood 
big enough it might get you stuck there
but I was hoping I could nudge her along into womanhood
a place were she could decide for herself
---
It's why when her last guy
Asked for a little space
She ran to another one
even if that meant turning the knife a little
and I guess now this is where I should realize
this isn't so out of character after all
She needed someone to hold her
Tell her it was gonna be alright
but that's easy to find
I know she knows that
I guess I just thought she was past that
---
she told me I made her self conscious
but that's not true
maybe in a new way or two
but she's been raw on the inside all along
and I guess I just forgot it
She fooled me too
I wonder if she fooled herself