[Verse 1:]
Flynn's a dancing puppet
Actor on a budget
Always wanted to make it in the theatre world
But he never can beat out those pretty girls
Audience laughter
Is coming after
Some fucked-up lines and a blushed-out face
Critics afterwards call the performance "a disgrace"
He goes home at night
No one by his side
He thought he'd meet a girl on the extravagant stage
The kind who's smart and the kind who's brave
But his home is silent
The roles are minor
Never talks to the performers who are by his side
Never bothers to act, never bothers to try

And his paycheck is never what he really wants
The shows he's in are never really fun
Audition process is always a regret
He's on that stage and he wishes he were dead
But the cheers are loud every single time
He can pretend they're cheering for him
But he knows it's a dream, and it isn't fine
He goes home and drinks some gin
One night's show, he buys a ticket
Sits in the audience, wants to miss it
It's a requirement to be right there
A woman sits in a nearby chair
And turns her face to talk to Flynn
She says she recognizes him
She asks him how his life has been
He says he doesn't wanna talk about it

[Pre-Chorus 1:]
Her face becomes more sympathetic
He thinks she thinks he's real pathetic
He says, "Okay, if you really wanna know"
She says "I do," and he turns to her and says

[Chorus:]
Hey baby, I'm dead inside
Don't wanna live, but I just can't die
I'm bein' chased, but there's nowhere to hide
Please let me in your life this time

[Verse 2:]
Nick's a 16-year-old
He wants to be home-schooled
High school's nothin' but a fuckin' mess
Always under attack, always under stress
His mom's a pill-popper
His dad's an alcoholic
He sinks in his desk to avoid the fights
It's not much to live, but it's enough to survive
In his secluded bedroom
He's feels so consumed
His only friends are never there for him
And he's always wanted to have a girlfriend
But it'll never happen
It's just a daydream
He's never been bullied, but he wants to be
Every other single loner sure seems to be
But he's just gonna have to be unique
Always gonna be a loser, always gonna be a freak
Without the proper attitude
At least the losers in the movies are sometimes cool
But his life isn't even that
He never asks for anything more
But at least he isn't short and fat
He's at least got that going for

He goes to the gym to watch the game
The school is hosting their basketball team
On the bleachers, he feels insecure
A girl sits down, he knows her
She's an acquaintance that he's talked to before
She says "hi," he looks down, he says nothing, he frowns
She says "hi" again, maybe he didn't hear her
After all, she's a high school senior

[Pre-Chorus 2:]
Perhaps being two years younger than her
Makes it awkward for him here
He looks up and turns to her
And says, "yes I know, you're here," and shouts

[Chorus:]
Hey baby, I'm dead inside
Don't wanna live, but I just can't die
I'm bein' chased, but there's nowhere to hide
Please let me in your life this time
[Verse 3:]
Carlos works the night shift
At a grocery store
There's no one to talk to when the lights go out
Just stackin' boxes with his headphones out
Got to be careful
The work is a handful
Every single mistake he ever has
Is a cause for his boss to fire his ass
His girlfriend left him
He doesn't know what he did
The time alone at night eats at him
As he thinks about how he might've hurt Caroline
At 3:00 A.M. he
Is halfway finished
There's nothing there to interest him
Or to call him back, or to call him friend

And he cries himself to sleep each day
He can't help that he feels betrayed
That his college degree that promised him change
Well, he didn't like it, anyway
But his life was only getting started
He thought he was in the clear
But his boss constantly calls him retarded
He has to accept that he's here

So he takes a road trip out-of-town
To find another girl around
He knows it's hopeless, he's a goddamn deadbeat
That no girl would want to meet
He goes to a bar at the time he works
And he sits right down next to a girl
Who is downing shots of vodka
He asks for her name, she says "Ivanka"

[Pre-Chorus 3:]
He says, "Ivanka, you've got to hear me out
I've been searching for anyone who will listen, when I say"

[Chorus:]
Hey baby, I'm dead inside
Don't wanna live, but I just can't die
I'm bein' chased, but there's nowhere to hide
Please let me in your life this time