Ha-ha-ha… I came across an article today by some chap who specialises in numerology. Apparently, I've been reincarnated on this Earth the maximum number of times one possibly can. Over forty times! So now, from the lofty heights of my soul's considerable seniority, I can look down my nose at Rookie with a certain air of superiority. D-))) [Intro — dry, close] Apparently, I have been here more than forty times. This explains a great deal. Unfortunately, not the useful parts. [Verse 1] I have died in empires whose names I cannot spell, loved in seven languages, and probably badly in all of them as well. I have crossed deserts, fought wars, been a monk, a thief, a king. And yet this morning I spent ten minutes looking for my glasses while wearing them. Experience is a complicated thing. [Pre-Chorus] So forgive me if I sometimes look at younger souls and smile. I have made the same mistakes for several centuries in style. [Chorus] Rookie. Look at you, first time through. So much faith in what you know. Rookie. Don’t worry. Give it forty lives and you’ll still get something wrong. I’ve been here again, again, again - and still I miss the obvious. Forty lives behind me. Still a rookie at being alive. [Verse 2] I remember nothing, which is terribly convenient. No debts. No crimes. No wives. No evidence. Just spiritual seniority with absolutely no receipts. A perfect system, if you think about it. I can claim ancient wisdom and blame all my defects on unfinished karma. Very efficient. Very old soul. [Pre-Chorus] Perhaps I once built temples. Perhaps I burned them down. Perhaps in one incarnation I finally understood love. That would be nice. I seem to have forgotten. [Chorus] Rookie. Look at you, first time through. So much faith in what you know. Rookie. Don’t worry. Give it forty lives and you’ll still get something wrong. I’ve been here again, again, again - and still I miss the obvious. Forty lives behind me. Still a rookie at being alive. [Bridge — stripped back] But there is one thing I almost believe. Not the number. Not the planets. Not the arithmetic of souls. Only this: some people arrive already tired of cruelty. Some arrive with a strange tenderness they cannot explain. Some recognize sorrow before they recognize themselves. If that is age, then perhaps we have been here before. Or perhaps we have simply been paying attention. [Break — almost spoken] Still… forty lives. You must admit it looks excellent on a résumé. Final Chorus — wider, warm, amused] Rookie. Come sit down. I’ll tell you everything I know. It should take about three minutes. Rookie. Then you can tell me what I missed. That may take longer. I have been here again, again, again - if the numbers are correct. And after forty lives I have learned one thing I trust: the older the soul, the less it needs to look old. So, Rookie - welcome. I saved you a seat. [Outro — very close] Apparently, I am an ancient soul. Please show some respect. And if you happen to know where I left my glasses… that would also help.
