[Verse 1]
Can I tell you a secret?
About a man from Pennsylvania
Do you promise to keep it
Locked away in a safe for goodness sake

Bah bah bah, bah da da bah bah
Bah bah bah, bah bah bah
Bah bah bah, bah da da bah bah
Bah bah bah, bah bah bah

[Chorus]
It was never mine to take
But I heard it from a thief in Chicago
Who stole it from a waitress at the bay
Who read it on the lips of a stranger
Who learned to write fiction from his mother in Monterey

[Verse 2]
Got a story about a man in Massachusetts
And if you ever do meet him
You would never know his face from another

Baby, he'll give you a penny
For your thoughts and a dime for your story
You heard from a thief in Chicago
About a man from Pennsylvania

[Chorus]
It was never mine to take
But I heard it from a thief in Chicago
Who stole it from a waitress at the bay
Who read it on the lips of a stranger

It was never mine to take
But I heard from a thief in Chicago
Who stole it from a waitress at the bay
But you read it on the lips of a stranger
Who learned to write fiction from his mother in Monterey

[Bridge]
Can you ever trust what you hear
When you play a game of telephone?
So I preach it from the pulpit
Like you heard a strained note
Chased it from God's own mouth

I know He gave it to ya

[Chorus]
It was never yours to take
But I heard it from a thief in Chicago
Who stole it from a waitress at the bay
Who read it on the lips of a stranger

It was never yours to take (yours to take)
But I heard from a thief in Chi-town
Who stole it from a waitress at the bay
Who read it on the lips of a stranger
Who learned to write fiction from his mother in Monterey
Learned to write fiction from his mother in Monterey