[Verse 1]
I don’t want to complain from ear to ear
Or watch if the one ahead of me disappears
Deny the reflection I see in my mirror
Or harbor resentment between brow and brow
[Verse 2]
I don’t want to keep so many secrets
Or be trapped in a grotesque feud
Like the Montagues and Capulets
I don’t want to be obsolete at your age
[Verse 3]
Or lose my strength, or say without rigor
That every past moment was always better
Or come home irate and upset
I don’t want to be tirеd of bearing myself
[Chorus]
And though this truth may hurt
I have to say it without trying to plеase
But if I offend, I ask forgiveness
When I grow up, I don’t want to be like you
[Verse 4]
I don’t want to make the same mistakes you did
Or believe that everyone’s out to cheat me
I don’t want to adopt your same values
Or live every day like the ones before it
[Verse 5]
I don’t want to lose control of my temper
Or carry that sadness in my eyes
Wet and red, worn and weak
I don’t want to resign myself to being my own remains
[Verse 6]
Or vehemently blame others for what is mine
To own and my responsibility
Nor seek out in some foolish thing
What I couldn’t do when I was twenty-three
[Chorus]
And though this truth may hurt
I have to say it without trying to please
But if I offend, I ask forgiveness
When I grow up, I don’t want to be like you
[Solo]
[Verse 7]
I don’t want to lose all sense of pleasure
Or let pain touch me and summon the past
I don’t want to cry when I see old pictures
Or tremble at the mention of someone’s name
[Verse 8]
I don’t want to live a battered life
With suspicions of foul play and broken dreams
Or hurl curses believing I’m Apollo
Or hate being alone on a special date
[Verse 9]
And though this might be misinterpreted
I don’t want them to think it’s just to criticize
I hope this is merely a declaration
Because I’m not sure I want you to want to be like me
[Chorus]
And though this truth may hurt
I have to say it without trying to please
But if I offend, I ask forgiveness
When I grow up, I don’t want to be like you
And though this truth may hurt (I don’t want to be like you)
I have to say it without trying to please (I don’t want to be like you)
But if I offend, I ask forgiveness (I don’t want to be like you)
When I grow up...