[Verse 1]
It was a crawdad spring and a grasshopper summer
I had a dime store daddy and a paperback mother
Sister had a boyfriend and brother was playing ball
And I was raising myself, the last of them all

[Chorus 1]
So I jumped in, closed my eyes
There was a party going on with nobody home
No one to mind me, or looking to find me
I was outside in the backyard swimming alone

[Verse 2]
I was a California dreamer in a hot Texas town
And I was too young to drive but I still got around
Climbing out of windows just to get stoned
Out there on the edge swimming alone

[Chorus 2]
But I jumped in, closed my eyes
I was always running away from home
But on my side was my heart open wide
I learned how to survive swimming alone
Yeah

[Verse 3]
I've had friends and lovers and so many others
I've had a lot of good deals and plans that I broke
Sometimes you get burned but that's how you learn
When you're out there in the world swimming alone