Well these walls have seen and heard a lot of sorrow This house is where the vicious cycle thrives It has a bathroom and a phone But it's never been a home Just a place where parents fuck up their kids' lives The woman in room seven shot her husband Her little daughter's name was Valerie As she was hauled away in cuffs She shouted out, "With any luck," "That little girl will grow up to be just like me" In room six there was another broken family A young mother left alone with her young son His father went out for a drink And not a soul has seen him since It's plain to see their little nightmare's just begun And I swear I've seen enough to last a lifetime I swear that I could just go on and on But I'll spare you the details I know nobody really cares I just had to put it these whispers in a song And it's 123 This may not be The prettiest song you've heard but please You gotta listen closely now and then 'Cause there are stories in these halls And there are faces in these walls And none of them ever want to come here again Well the woman in room five survived the fire She survived the flood and plague and lightning too And she never even cried, so I had to turn a blind eye Every month when we both knew the rent was due And she said, "Please don't you do me any favors," "I simply can't afford to pay them back" And I told her it was free And she just looked at me And said "Darling, I ain't never heard of that" Now her ashes belong to the county And her boy is a ward of the state And he'll grow up someday And drink his life away It's a sad but inevitable fate It's important that you recognize the cycle That really is the only crucial part Don't you say that it's genetic I don't think you really get it Because you cannot pass down a broken heart And it's 123 This may not be The prettiest song you've heard but please You gotta listen closely now and then 'Cause there are stories in these halls And there are faces in these walls And none of them ever want to come here again And that little girl who grew up in room seven Well she turned out just the way that you'd expect And to her mother as she died She said "Don't you apologize," "We know my life would have already been a mess" And they found her body floating in the bathtub The makeup was still fresh upon her face And a brief and simple note On the wall in lipstick wrote "It's the only way to get out of this place" And it's 123 This may not be The prettiest song you've heard but please You gotta listen closely now and then 'Cause there are stories in these halls And there are faces in these walls And none of them ever want to come here again