Chorus:   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