Song Description

Life has a bad habit of giving unannounced pop quizzes to most of us at the moment when we are least prepared. Any student can ace a test when he knows it is coming, but how we handle the sudden, savage pounce of fate, not necessarily how high we score, is a far greater indicator of how we stand in the class of life-- what we have learned and where we have failed. This song is about the tested and the untested. A student that cuts all his classes and thinks he will pass the final is in for a rude awakening.

Lyrics

IF YOU'VE NEVER

IF YOU'VE NEVER stood on the ledge,
or looked down the barrel of your gun,
Nor felt the red razor's edge,
or thought that you've seen your last sun--
Life recant's the rebel's pledge,
no matter what you've done,
No matter what you've done

IF YOU'VE NEVER been intimate,
with the solemn march of the night clock,
If you've never felt the infinite,
while entreating the clemency of the cock--
You'll probably not turn into much,
no matter what you've got,
No matter what you've got.

IF YOU'VE NEVER taken the path,
to the man that lives in the mirror,
If you've never slung at heaven your wrath,
knowing it will hit no hearer--
Life sneaks up behind your back,
no matter if you hear her,
No matter if you hear her.