Well I've felt worse and I have felt    better than this   I've made a pacifier    Out of my fist      Well I don't care when bones are bare   The mind can't interfere   And what I've said outside my head   Anyone can hear      Maybe I praise you 'cause I cannot praise myself   Won't you just take   A compliment from me?      Perhaps they're understated   And a little overmasked   If they were hand delivered   It would be more than I could ask      Forwardness ain't my business   But you can fish for compliments   While I beg for forgiveness      I'd like to reap the flatteries I sow   But I really cast seeds of doubt   Looks like you take them from everyone   And everyone hands them out      Self mutilation just ain't my trip   But now this is worth the trouble   Cut me open with your laughter   I bleed complementary colors      Tender seedlings trampled   And overwatered boughs   Won't you just take   A compliment from me?      Perhaps they're overstated   And a little undermasked   If they were what I really meant   It would be more than I could ask      Forwardness should be my business   But you can fish for compliments   While I beg for forgiveness      Well I have tried every approach    And they always leave me empty   But each one has it's special way   Of making everyone contempt me      It seems rather selfish to want to be loved   Or to love and expect you to care   But my batteries don't run on flattery   And it just gets me nowhere      Oh when was I ever promised   I'd get back all that I gave?   But I wouldn't care if you'd take   A compliment from me      Perhaps it's too late   Or too much to expect   But compliments that come no strings attached   Well, they're certainly the best   Thing for me, I adore you   But you can fish for compliments   And I won't be there to bore you