Peculiar Flag

[Verse 1]
You alphabetize your cereal by shape
I name the pigeons waiting by the gate
You wear one mitten, though the day is warm
I keep a pocket full of ticket stubs and thorns

They say, "Be normal," like it's something you can buy
Like there's a correct way to misplace your mind
But every crooked detail that you tried to hide
Is a door you get to open from the inside

[Pre-Chorus]
So bring your bent ideas
Your laugh at the wrong time
The things you keep collecting
That don't fit in a line

[Chorus]
Come as strange as you are
Come too loud, come offbeat
Bring the whole odd parade
With your mismatched feet
We were never made
To be copies in a row
Let your peculiar flag fly
Let the good weird show

[Verse 2]
You talk to houseplants, give them little names
I save the buttons from my coats like tiny brains
You take the long way just to count the doors
I make up secret histories for grocery-store floors

No need to sand the corners from your grin
No need to file your favorite edges in
The room gets bigger every time we let
One more unpolished piece of us in yet

[Pre-Chorus]
So bring your bent ideas
Your laugh at the wrong time
The things you keep collecting
That don't fit in a line

[Chorus]
Come as strange as you are
Come too loud, come offbeat
Bring the whole odd parade
With your mismatched feet
We were never made
To be copies in a row
Let your peculiar flag fly
Let the good weird show

[Bridge]
I spent years trying to pass for plain
Pressed my wild little thoughts into a frame
Then you showed up with a pocket-sized spoon
And said, "I carry it in case the soup comes soon"
And I laughed till the old shame let go
There was room at the table; I finally know

[Final Chorus]
Come as strange as you are
Come too loud, come offbeat
Bring the whole odd parade
With your mismatched feet
We were never made
To be copies in a row
Let your peculiar flag fly
Let the good weird show

Come as strange as you are
Let the bright cracks show
We belong in the room
We belong as we grow
[Outro]
Your crooked grin, my pocket of stones
Nobody here has to fit the mold
Come as strange as you are
Come as strange as you are