[VERSE 1]

I was lying on the floor of the playground

You were chasing off a kid with a greyhound

I remember thinking you're the coolest girl I know

You were swinging from the ceiling rafters

It fell around you in a halo of plaster

I don't go to hospitals---I let you go alone

[Chorus]

I had my reasons at the time

I had my reasons at the time

Something in the state of mind

Oh, everlasting light...

[VERSE 2]

Why's your father always calling me out, yeah?

There's a saying in the English South:

"You have to put your mind in gear before you drive your mouth."

I got to thinking of legitimate work

But they found the powder in the funeral hearse

And oh! That blessed conjugal, I could not be alone

[Chorus]

I had my reasons at the time

I had my reasons at the time

Something in the state of mind

I had my reasons at the time

I had my reasons at the time

Something in the state of mind

Oh, everlasting light...

[INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE]

[Chorus]

I had my reasons at the time

I had my reasons at the time

Something in the state of mind

I had my reasons at the time

I had my reasons, yeah

Something in the state of mind

Oh, everlasting light...