There are rumors going around
You can feel history coming about
You're never sure just where it's going to stay
You suffer through lingering doubt
You wish someone would spell it out
But things don't work that way
There's so much going on, faces in the crowd
Belong to a team on which you'd love to play
You're hoping for some permanence
But there really is no place for this
Your tattoos, they're gonna fade!
They're gonna fade!
They're gonna fade!
They're gonna fade!

Our youth like wax drips down
In puddles around our legs
It hardens and catches us to the quick
You're putting a lot of importance in
Something you're really just playing a part in
You should take what action you can get
What you're sure you're carving in stone
On your flesh
You'd do better living more and commemorating less
There's much I don't want to remember
There's not a thing I'd wish last forever
You're tattoos are gonna fade!
They're gonna fade!
They're gonna fade!
They're gonna fade!

It's not as important to persevere as to doubt
When you're so angry, nothing matters
You be brave 'cause everything counts, and
I'd never be so unsubtle
As to write this on my sleeve
Unless I was sure I could change it
When I was ready to leave
There's much I don't want to remember
There's not a thing I would wish last forever
Or let me put this another way:
I know you're hoping for some permanence
But there really is no truth to this
Your tattoos, they're gonna fade