Forty winks in a crawl space, wrapped up tight Under the ether, out like a light Sleeping was my best defense Through every hard experience Chorus: But I'm working my way up from the ether It's too cold, too dark, too damp in this house of fear I want to wake to the joys and aches of the real world And stick around long enough to see what's happening here One rung up, six rungs down This shaky old ladder keeps sliding around And the going gets slow, and I check out fast Trying to track a pain killer that will last Chorus Strong medicine in the love of a good man Strong medicine in a family Strong medicine in the eyes of a close friend And the one truth that could finally make me free Chorus