Some people gotta learn the hardway   I guess I'm the kinda guy that has to find out for myself   I had to learn the hardway,   Father I'm on my knees and I'm crying for help      Now I've been high and I've been low   I've been some places that you will not go   I never thought there would come the day   When I wished I never would've lived this way   But I've been searching for a long, long time   I thought the devil was a friend of mine   I turned my back on everything that was true   And wasted years that belong to you      (repeat chorus)      It took so long for me to see   That I'm a victim of nature and me   Left to myself I realize   I am the maker of my own demise   But you accept me every time and again   And never mention just how selfish I've been   Why must it always take me so long to see   That I have fallen but you will forgive me?      (repeat chorus 2x)      The warning signs are like flares in the night   Still I proceed my greed is in spite   Of the fire I know that's bound to burn   Why is it that I always gotta learn   The hardway, the hardway, I had to learn the hardway   The hardway, the hardway, I had to learn the hardway