Once I Tried It Myself—Lyrics

Once I Tried It Myself (I Changed My Mind)

Words and music by Christopher Kent

I used to live in New York City, on the West side
I’d walk past old brownstones, Chinese take-out, Spanish grocery stores
I loved the way it felt so real, so down to earth and honest
A million different stories behind a million doors
I stayed away from the upper East side, where the rich folks lived
I thought they’d act superior, pretentious as could be
But when I moved in with my girlfriend, that’s where she was living
It turned out everybody there was pretty much like me

Once I tried it myself, I changed my mind
Reputations may be deserved, but mostly they’re unkind
I used to think I knew it all, but darlin,’ I was blind
‘Cause once I tried it myself, I changed my mind

When I was young I thought that I could save the world with logic
I analyzed and scrutinized everything I saw and heard
I thought that every mystery could be resolved by reason
To live life any other way seemed pointless and absurd
But then I’d get these impulses that had no rhyme or reason
And now and then I’d follow one, in spite of conscious doubt
And listening to my feelings started leading me to answers
That no amount of logic could have ever figured out

Once I tried it myself, I changed my mind
Logic’s not the only thing for which the brain’s designed
If you never trust your feelings, you might as well be blind
Once I tried it myself, I changed my mind

They say that those who’ve seen a ghost are not afraid of dying
And those who’ve done the impossible are not afraid of trying
No one wants to play the fool, but holding on too tightly
To the things you’re sure are true can keep your soul from flying

I used to laugh at people who believed in psychic powers
Telepathy and precognition, consciousness expanding…
I thought it showed how gullible the human race could be
And I relished my superior understanding
But then my own experience began to contradict me
And things began to happen that I just could not explain
In fact, I found that everyone can do those crazy things
So now if people laugh at me, I guess I can’t complain

Once I tried it myself, I changed my mind
Things that seemed impossible were only hard to find
I used to think I knew it all, it turned out I was blind
And once I tried it myself, I changed my mind

So keep your eyes wide open, ‘cause you never know what you’ll find
And once you try it yourself, you just might change your mind