Regrets

Ben Folds Five

I thought about sitting on the floor in second grade
I couldn't keep the pace
I thought I was the only one moving in slow motion
While the other kids knew something I did not
But if I acted like a clown
I thought it'd get me through, it did
But that don't work no more
You're not a kid no more
I thought I'd do some traveling
Never did

Regrets, regrets
I thought about the hours wasted
Watching TV, drinking beer
I thought about the things I thought about
Until immobilized with fear
And all the great ideas I had
And how we just made fun
Of those who had the guts to try and fail
And then I ended up in jail

Regrets, regrets
But just for a day
Seems the police had made a computer mistake
Said there must be thousands like me with the same name
Anyway, I thought about the things I settled for or never tried
I never visited my grandma even once
When she was sick before she died
So I don't blame you if you never come to see me here again

Regrets, regrets


Lyrics submitted by kevin

Regrets Lyrics as written by Folds

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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9 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment
    This song fits into the theme of the whole Messner album which is about one person who had one hell of a fucked up life. This guy wishes he had done a whole bunch of shit but never did. He "clowned" his way though school, and then never got anywhere in life...
    supraxon September 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    The line: "Said there must be thousands like me with the same name," is a direct reference to the title of the album. Reinhold Messner was apparently a name that was commonly used on fake IDs in North Carolina, where the band is from.
    masterofpuppetson October 07, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song makes you feel shitty as hell And how amazing is that last minute, holy sheez
    Reddiffson January 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    its not all about a persona! just get beyond this fictional dude, and understand that lyrics uses a way to portray something that can be common to the whole humanity. Never the less i always find it funny to see people stucking in the format, literaly thinking lyrics are like the story telling of a stupid sitcom. here you have a feeling... more than anything, one that mirrors what we all need to forsee for ourselves. with time passing you by and the acumulation of mistakes, you have to reach a point a moment of lucidity, like here with someone who admits never was that clever, but with the regrets has ended with a lot on his mind. and that is something just about anyone can feel throughout his own life.
    naivadaon June 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    True story: I drank far, far too much one night out bar-hopping with friends, and wound up in the hospital. The entire blur of an experience I had that night/early morning, I had this song running through my head, as I had just discovered it a few weeks prior. Fitting, no? That, and there's "Hospital Song" on the same album!
    jmcieslakon January 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    "seems the police had made a computer mistake said there must be thousands like me with the same name" I love that. What a great storyteller. Those three simple lines really tell a very complex and sad story.
    UncleWalter1978on July 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Regrets. this song is very depressing, get's you thinking of all the time you have wasted in your life. With that, however, it is also inspiring
    BornIndieon August 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Am I the only one that noticed they built an entire song around the last line of Army?
    towel42on August 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think the song is connected in a way to hospital song, in one of the last lines "So I don't blame you if you never come to see me here again" he is in the hospital. So it fits into the album's theme of this guy looking back at his life. His unauthorized biography
    MitchellLaneon June 02, 2017   Link

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