[Chorus: Katy Perry]

You gotta take the highs with the lows

Sometimes it's just how it goes

And when you're down to nothing at all

It's always predictable

Postpone your broken dreams

While flipping through the pages of a magazine

You gotta take the highs with the lows

[Verse 1: Mickey Avalon]

Preacher McGrath was always eager to ask

Why his mother rubbed her hands beneath his pants at mass

And if he missed a prayer he best beware her wrath

'Cause moms would whip his ass to keep him on the path

To the son and the father plus the holy ghost

Run for cover or she bust his nose

Behind closed doors he dressed in hooker's clothes

And shoot [?] on his catechism, listen close

One day he got married to a bird named Persephone

Who died giving birth to his only child Stephanie

Whose destiny was flawed, undeserved

Because God made her father a filthy perv

[Chorus: Katy Perry]

You gotta take the highs with the lows

Sometimes it's just how it goes

And when you're down to nothing at all

It's always predictable

Postpone your broken dreams

While flipping through the pages of a magazine

You gotta take the highs with the lows

[Verse 2: Mickey Avalon]

Little Steph used to be so innocent

Now she never slept from all the crystal meth

Her papa was a preacher so she knew the good book

And when he tucked her into bed, he fondled the nook

But baby look good in the Honda Accord

With the chest pressed up against the dashboard

A pocket full of cash and a bottle of coors

Rev the throttle, hit the gas and nash on the floor

Toward the end of the night Steph would go to score

And when the dealer dished it out she hit him up for more

A bag of skittle for the baby while Steph gets crazy

From a shot to the neck, hot, wet and hazy

Lady of the Eve maybe she'd be in better health

If her father learned to keep his hands to himself

[Chorus: Katy Perry]

You gotta take the highs with the lows

Sometimes it's just how it goes

And when you're down to nothing at all

It's always predictable

Postpone your broken dreams

While flipping through the pages of a magazine

You gotta take the highs with the lows

[Verse 3: Mickey Avalon]

Norm was born to Stephanie in '73

He became a therapist, real swift with the ladies

As a baby he was brought to cop with moms

He got his face filled with candy while she marked her arms

A long shot from the start, but the kid was smart

He would hit the books while the others hit the yard

He started breaking hearts back in Junior High

'Cause Norm could stop 'em dead in their tracks with his eyes

Fiercely piercing past their thighs and into the stars

Hello, goodbye

College was a breeze, got As and Bs

And never even missed a single party

He opened up his practice in the deep, deep South

And helped damaged debutantes ease their woes on his couch

[Chorus: Katy Perry]

You gotta take the highs with the lows

Sometimes it's just how it goes

And when you're down to nothing at all

It's always predictable

Postpone your broken dreams

While flipping through the pages of a magazine

You gotta take the highs with the lows