![Cover art for Second Time Around [Band Version] lyrics by Indigo Girls](https://images.songmeanings.com/e249ccc3-f514-4467-a8ea-8fd79b14f628.webp)
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Second Time Around [Band Version] Lyrics
The second time around, you know it really got me down.
Sister don't you judge it, just keep it to yourself now. And
If you ain't got nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all.
I go bitten by the bitter bug, and now I just can't get enough
Of ill will and my own conceit. I'm weary of the world it seems.
I'm weary of the world, weary of the world it seems.
It's sort of always gone my way. I'm just a little bit off these
Days. Like I've had hard knocks all my life, like I'm a Bible
Belt wife. Like I didn't see it coming, like I didn't walk it
Willingly.
See, I never want to sing again. La la la like a butterfly.
Without my wits about me, without my heart in line.
Third time's a charm and this mine.
You said you heard Loretta sing and felt the loneliness
Seeping in. The cowboys made you uneasy, you're a
God-fearing lesbian. So you learn not to yearn and you
Take it on the chin again.
Here's what I find about compromise-Don't do it if it
Hurts inside, cause either way you're screwed, eventually
You'll find. You may as well feel good; you may as well
Have some pride.
Come August we'll go to Cherokee and hear Loretta do
Her thing. Pack it into the Indian casino and make the
Hillbilly scene, kick up our heels and join in.
Are you my ally or my enemy? Do you have
Self-loathing or empathy? Can you keep me in your prayers
Sister. Can you keep me in there somewhere? And
Sister if you ain't go nothing good to say:don't say
Nothing at all.
Sister don't you judge it, just keep it to yourself now. And
If you ain't got nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all.
Of ill will and my own conceit. I'm weary of the world it seems.
I'm weary of the world, weary of the world it seems.
Days. Like I've had hard knocks all my life, like I'm a Bible
Belt wife. Like I didn't see it coming, like I didn't walk it
Willingly.
Without my wits about me, without my heart in line.
Third time's a charm and this mine.
Seeping in. The cowboys made you uneasy, you're a
God-fearing lesbian. So you learn not to yearn and you
Take it on the chin again.
Hurts inside, cause either way you're screwed, eventually
You'll find. You may as well feel good; you may as well
Have some pride.
Her thing. Pack it into the Indian casino and make the
Hillbilly scene, kick up our heels and join in.
Self-loathing or empathy? Can you keep me in your prayers
Sister. Can you keep me in there somewhere? And
Sister if you ain't go nothing good to say:don't say
Nothing at all.
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From NOLA.com - In "Second Time Around," a friend's uncomfortable experience at a Loretta Lynn concert in Cherokee, N.C., is spun into a lesson about finding one's place in sometimes inhospitable environs. The openly gay Ray has lived in a rural corner of Georgia for 17 years.
"There's a core group of people that are really progressive, but for the most part it's a very conservative area," she said. "I'm pretty out of place, and I love it. I can relate to the South because I'm from the South, and I don't mind being around people that feel differently from me."
"Often the places we love so much reject us, as a gay person. In a general sense, you feel, 'Am I going to be accepted?' But on a one-to-one basis, you start realizing there are people that will take you in and accept you. You have to work with your neighbors and not judge a book by its cover, and be willing to join that experience. That's what I'm saying in the song: Stand up for who you are, but also try to join in the experience that may scare you."