[Verse 1]
Oh life, with your shoulders in the mirror
From the park when Dakota ran and brought you there
In the car when your mother lost her temper
The catalog and the catastrophic smile

Let the bugles play
The sermon on the raid
I kissed you on the face
I kissed you on the playground

[Chorus]
Oh Father John, you cannot tell me
What’s right and wrong
You cannot tell me
I'll jump before I get around you
Oh Father John

[Post-Chorus]
Pick it up with the band on the Ronald Reagan Tollway
(Don’t give up, let's go, forget about yourself)
Illinois in it ran from the Ronald Reagan Tollway
Forget about yourself and all your plans

[Verse 2]
Oh life, with your colorful surprises
Eleanor, how you put one on disguises
[Chorus]
Oh Father John, you cannot tell me
What’s right and wrong
You cannot tell me

[Bridge]
In the mortal life
Far in the morning light
We’re back from Bloomington
We let the runners win
Far in the morning life
We let the movies play
A weekend from the holiday

[Chorus]
Pick it up with the band on the Ronald Reagan Tollway
(Don’t break down, let’s go: forget about yourself)
Illinois in it ran from the Ronald Reagan Tollway
(If I’m wrong makes nothing right about yourself)

[Post-Chorus]
Snowmobile on the field where the gunners throw their weight around
Forget about yourself and all your plans