32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Marián Hossa

Episode Date: December 28, 2022

3-time Stanley Cup Champion and Hockey Hall of Famer, Marián Hossa, joins Jeff and Elliotte to talk about his new book “My Journey from Trencín to the Hall of Fame”, Slovakian hockey players he grew up watching, his NHL journey, how he developed his ability to take a pass, training with Zdeno Chára and the next generation of Slovakian hockey players.GET YOUR 32 THOUGHTS MERCH HEREEmail the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailMusic Outro: Jane’s Party - Live AgainListen to their latest recorded here: https://janesparty.com/This podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman. Additional production support was provided by Jeff Azzopardi and Luis Rameriz provided the social media assets.Audio Credits: NBC Sports Chicago.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Number 81, Marianne Hossa! So welcome to a special interview edition of 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by GMC and the new AT4X. Marek Fried, Delic. You know, my first experience with a Slovak hockey player, I mean, and maybe it's the same for you, Elliot, since we're the same vintage, was the 1976 Canada Cup. And the one player that I really fell in love with and was intrigued by, because I loved goaltenders and there were some colorful ones in the 70s, I was intrigued by Vladimir Zorilla, who was outstanding in that Canada Cup.

Now, the biography on Zorilla was, by trade, he was a refrigerator repairman. That's a true story. In addition to being Dominic Hasek's inspiration, this guy had a 9-5 as a refrigerator repairman. He also spent almost 20 years as a net minder for the Czechoslovakian national team. He was awesome in that tournament. And then the page flipped from decade to decade. And in the 80s, I fell in love with Peter Stastny. I love the Quebec Nordiques. I love Stastny, great Slovak hockey player, spot quiz. You can use this when it parties everybody. In the 1980s,

hockey player spot quiz you can use this one at parties everybody in the 1980s the high scoring 80s Wayne Gretzky was the uh the leading scorer who was number two it was Peter Stastny and those were my two main favorite Slovak hockey players I think you have one who's rather tall and uh and recently wrapped it up yeah Chara is as you know, he was always my favorite. I love dealing with Chara. But I love Stasny too, and I do remember Zerilla. I mean, there isn't a Canadian hockey fan or probably a hockey fan anywhere who's our age who hasn't seen the goal that Daryl Sittler scored

to end the 1976 Canada Cup. And Zerilla was absolutely brilliant that series. That one particular play, he came out to almost a blue line, as I remember, to try to challenge Sittler. Yes. Great moment.

Great moments in goaltending. Well, you know, and this brings us to, you know, someone that I've, you know, embarrassingly gushed about for years and was a real thrill to sit down and talk to him.

And that's Marian Hossa. he has a new book out called marion hosa my journey from trenchant to the hall of fame alongside scott powers i'm really happy he made it to the hockey hall of fame i'm really happy that his number is retired by the chicago blackhawks and to me the one thing that i've always said about hosa there's an old saying in hockey you can't give a great player a bad pass to me no one proved that more than marion hosa for each the other thing i think about him is that hosa was in a lot of ways i think the perfect complementary player he could play with just about anybody and it kind of goes to what you said there you could put him on any team with any great player and he could play alongside him. And as we've learned, not everybody can do that.

It's a harder skill than you think. And Hossa was phenomenal at it. The one thing about Hossa too is he's, how should I say this? He's a hockey player's hockey player. Like he's the guy that the players look at and like the tiny little things that hockey players marvel at,

Marian Hossa makes them look easy. Like if you go around and talk to players that played either with him or against him and you bring up his name, they'll just start gushing about how awesome he is and how envious they are about this particular skill or that particular skill. Anyhow, here's Marian Hossa on 32 Thoughts, the podcast, a special interview. It was our pleasure to sit down with the Hall of Famer. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoy talking to the Hall of Famer. Listen to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, ad-free on Amazon Music,

included with Prime. Left wing feet and Isamov. His pass at cross ice makes its way through to Hossa for the shot. He's got it! There it is! Number 500 for Marion Hossa. And his teammates are well aware of it. As he gets the hugs over by the Chicago bench.

44th player in NHL history with 500 goals. Just an outstanding career for Marion Hossel. One of the best two-way players in the game. Howe getting back. Christine Tantalus there's Hossel with a stop shot. He's got the pound and punch for Marion Hossa And he's put his team in front Marion Hossa after a Versteegh terrific forecheck

Has given the Blackhawks the lead And there's a thousand career points Only 79 other guys in the history of the league Has ever reached that milestone. He does it in his 1100th career game. A thousand points in his storied career. Four times Stanley Cup finalist. Four times Slovakian Olympian.

Elliot, there's so much we can say about Marian Hossa. We would probably spend the majority of this interview just setting it up. Here are the thumbtacks. He is a Hockey Hall of Famer. He is one of the best wingers of his generation. He is a Stanley Cup champion. And now we can also say, Elliot, he is an author, the author of My Journey from Trenchin to the Hall of Fame. Please welcome Marian Hossa. Marian, how are you today? Thanks for joining us. Nice to see you guys. I'm

doing really well. How is life for Marian Hossa right now? Give us a snapshot. What is your day to day like? How do you fill your time? What are you interested in right now? It's slower than it used to be when I was playing, but also more busier in different areas, you know, like more business-oriented. But I still keep an eye on how the Blackhawks are playing. You know, I've still got two of my really good friends playing, and definitely I'm in contact with the Blackhawks organization. You know, I just love hockey.

I'm not playing anymore, but I still like keep in the loop, you know, keep checking the scores and see how my favorite players are doing. So who are your favorite players? Who do you watch? Well, Conor McDavid, you know, like I love watching that guy. Like there is, you know, he's like from different planet. McKinnon, those guys, you know, they're an exciting player to watch.

But there are so many great young players. But also, I talked to Kaner the other day. I love to watch him. Johnny Taves, having a good start in the season. So, obviously, guys I used to play with, but also some young, exciting superstars. When they score i click you know i want to see the goal i knew there's something always happening now you were a really good

defensive player marion if you were lined up against connor mcdavid what would you do in the one chapter i was like writing a little bit about him uh i think he was 19 years old when he jumped in the league. Well, obviously, he jumped in as 18, right? I was, we played in Edmonton and I think that was in their zone.

I was handling the puck. All of a sudden, he poked it and he was gone. And thanks God, the puck bounced over his stick so I got it back

and I just passed it and went to change and I started scratching my head on the bench. I was like, I think this is the first time I would never have the chance to catch this guy. Like, I usually disrupt guys, you know, like back checking. But this guy would be gone.

I have no chance. And I sit on the bench for half a second. I was thinking, I never feel this way, you know. I think that's an outstanding story, too, because I'm, listen, you played in an era where there were some great skaters as well and some countrymen as well. And listen, uh, Marian Gabrick's one of my favorite hockey players of all time. And boy, could he ever fly outside of Connor McDavid?

Who did you find that the toughest to check was like, like as Elliot mentions, you're a great 200 foot player. I've always maintained it. I think Elliot shares the same sentiment. There should have been at least a couple of selkie trophies behind you on that trophy shelf by the time your career was done. But who else did you find really challenging who had just amazing foot speed?

Pavel Datsyuk. I just felt like he had tricks in his sleeves. And I mentioned one chapter in my book about him because i think he was really really special player and playing with him was so much easier you know i was mentioning in the book also i was lucky to play different teams with so many special players like in pittsburgh with uh cindy crosby and Malkin. You know, then I went to Detroit. You know, there was Zetterberg, Datsouk, and obviously another Hall of Famer, Nick Lindstrom, Chris Chelios.

And in Chicago, you've got Johnny Taves and Patrick Kane. So obviously, I was really lucky to be in a great, great team to play with the special players and, you know, help me to become a really better player. Okay. So there's a few stories that you talk about here in the book that really, I always look for the stories I didn't know about you, okay? And so there were a couple I wanted you to talk about. Number one, Mario Lemieux called you and told you

we want you back in Pittsburgh, and you turned him down. How hard was it to say no to Mario Lemieux? One of the toughest phone calls I ever had. His jersey hanging right here because he was my favorite player, Wayne Gretzky. Two jerseys. When I was growing up, I said, wow, these guys are unreal. I knew when I finished my career career i want to personalize the

jersey sign it for me and i was really scared to ask mario because i was rejecting you know their offer and but he was so nice uh to obviously uh to sign it for me and he had no problem with that and uh come back to the phone call there was summer 2000 uh i think eight and when he called me i was driving in a highway and i saw some u.s number so i picked it up and i'm i'm driving on hands-free and all sudden it's like uh marion it's mario lemieux calling you and i was like like my idol is calling me he's like no way i pulled over like first gas station i could you know when I step on the brakes I was like breathing heavier and uh you know obviously he told me uh you know they really want me we were negotiating already with my agent and my agent was telling me like how the things are and obviously I wasn't sure and I had like Detroit also really interested, but only one year.

And I felt scared to tell at the time. But I didn't know at the time I was going to sign with Detroit. I told Mario, I was like, we're really working on it. I really appreciate your offer, and I will get back to you with my agent. So there was a quick phone call. I never forget a phone call like that because mario let me only call you one the other one i really remember and i loved marion was because i'm trying to imagine myself in your shoes here so you win the first stanley cup in 2010 and you're going home after that

summer and you're going to get married and you forgot the dress your apartment in Chicago. And here's my question. Do you think they shut the door on the plane if you lose that series to Philadelphia? Do you think you only held the door open because you won? That's a great question. You know, we were renting the first year apartment and we were moving. I already bought one, like not far away.

So we were like moving, you know, I was still like a little hangover from the celebration and things going on and I'm moving slowly. My, you know, we're getting dressed for my wife.

So finally the dress is hanging there. All the bags are packed. So we brought all the bags to the car downstairs and things just hung in the door and we just jump on the car and drive to the heavy traffic in chicago finally we got to the airport it's like yes finally we're in the airport good timing and he's like where's the dress he's like oh no we cannot ship it right because it's

gonna get all wrinkled and stuff so we calling our like friend and uh she's right there so they opened the door but i said like there is no chance we're gonna make it right they told us like you guys have like 45 minutes like with this traffic 45 minutes there's no chance like she's gonna make and they kept the door you know open for maybe a few minutes uh late longer for us and they want to stand the cup they start celebrating for us with a dress. The whole plane on the beginning, you know, I was like, oh, they're going to get mad, you know, be careful.

And they were like clapping hands, you know, obviously they knew we just won. So they were super nice. And answer your question, I think you are right. You know, I think they would close the door. I'm always curious about players who influenced you when you were young. Like I'll, I remember my father.

Okay. Before the 1976 Canada cup tournament. I still remember my dad passed away a few years ago, but I can always remember him telling me about Peter Stastny. Oh, you wait till you see Peter Stastny. You wait till you see the Stastny. This guy is so,

and he was, I mean, Peter Stastny is like one of the best players ever. But there was one other Slovak player on the Czechoslovakian team, the netminder, Vladimir Zorilla, who I just absolutely adored. So Zorilla and Rogi Vashon were the two goaltenders in the final. So those are the two, my first experiences with Slovak hockey players. Two of the best, Peter Stasny, Vladimir Zorilla. Growing up, who are your favorite players? Who are your favorite Slovak hockey players. Two of the best. Peter Stastny, Vladimir Zorilla. Growing up, who were your favorite players?

Who were your favorite Slovak hockey players? Those are two big names. You see, obviously the Stastny brothers were a huge defect to play National Hockey League. They put a big name for Slovakia.

You know, Peter had an unbelievable career. I just met him last year at the airport. He was flying to St. Louis, I was flying to Chicago and we met in the lounge and we started talking. So it was nice to see him. Those are big brothers' names and they put a big stamp for Slovakian other players coming to National Hockey League. But obviously, they're an older generation. When I was growing up, I remember Peter Bondra from Slovakian players. One of those guys I really like a lot to watch his speed,

scoring goals for Washington. And also, Ziggy Palfrey was fun to watch. He was like effortless little player but just so smooth and uh really really just fun to watch could you ever get a mullet like Ziggy Palfrey had like did you ever try anything like that when I was 11 years old you did eh I had about yeah I got my first uh hockey card actually it's kind of like a red mullet, you know, like short and long in the end. That was the haircut then. Did you have that in Portland as well when you played in the Western League?

Did you have the mullet back then? No, not anymore. I think that was the only time. You know, you were, you know, in a lot of ways, you were a real, like, you know, like Zidane O'Chara ended up going to Prince George and you went to Portland. That was kind of like a real, a big moment for hockey in Canada and the Canadian Hockey League. Probably a big moment for you. Why did you make that decision to go play junior hockey in Canada? I was lucky.

I got the opportunity as a 17-year-old before my draft year, play for the men's first time in my home team in trenching so they gave me a chance and I scored I think over 30 goals so that season so far 17 year old was really good and uh I got drafted by Ottawa because of that season uh and I started feeling really confident uh I had like a good pretty decent world junior. Marshall Johnson really watched me. He scoured me, and he drafted me. But then I had a really good training camp as an 18-year-old. I think I won by points in the training camp. I beat Alex Yashin and Alexander Baik.

I had more points than those guys. But then when the season started, they gave me a chance seven games. But I started struggling. I started learning, okay, this is not that easy that I thought. This league is really hard. And my confidence went down, and they decided to send me to Portland Winterhawk. So first, I wasn't happy by the decision. But right now, I was writing in a book.

That was the best decision they did for me because I gained confidence. I started learning how to adapt in North American style, live with a North American family, get better in English, in every different aspect. My roommate was Brandon Morrow, captain for Dallas Stars. So we spent a year there together, and that was an amazing journey. When was the moment, marion where you first said i'm gonna be fine here i'm gonna adapt and this is not gonna be a problem for me to get there eventually i think uh well in in the finals my last game there was third period five minutes left uh we won the memorial cup but i got hurt like five minutes before the game so final game of

the season you know like and like, and I heard, I tore my ACL, basically really big operation was coming up in Ottawa. And they told me I need to stay in Ottawa and rehab the whole summer. So no going home. In the old rules, you remember clutching, grabbing, hooking, slashing. So I was skinny kid, like really talented, but skinny kid. And that summer I can wait I was really just you know my mom was there with me in the summer she dropped me in a coach up Alexander

or I think back then was named in Ottawa in Canada and I told her like come back in four or five hours you know to pick me up so every day I was doing like the rehab working out upper body and i just get bigger stronger and when the season came next day like that year after after portland i was way stronger i gained muscle like i feel like nobody could touch me on the ice like my legs were so super strong and i think at that point i started feeling like i staying in this league i don't want to move away anymore the minors or or anywhere else, I want to stay here. That Ottawa team had some guys who were really committed to physical fitness, like Alfredson was and obviously Chara was.

Were you on Chara's level? Could you bike with Chara for like five hours or anything like that? That guy is like a madman. I remember him in my hometown when he was training. Me and Gabi went a couple times with him to his training. After the first round of the training, we said, like, fuck it. This is crazy. He's like, guys, you don't have to finish everything, but do this, right?

And I'll finish everything, but you just do this and just watch me to do it and after like be ready for the next round it's like see this last time you see is practicing with you like this hand you know this is my making hands you know like I cannot like go up and down the rope like five times like you and the legs I was like no way that guy's working like a madman you know that was an interesting team as well I mean to elliot's point like a lot of guys that were really dedicated to physical fitness and like hall of famers on that team you're in the hall of fame daniel alfredson is going to the hall of fame zidane ochara will be in the hall of fame one day like that ottawa senators team we may not have realized

it at the time even though it was a great team, but there were legitimate top of class, like all time players on that team. Did you feel that way when you were playing with the senators? Like, Hey, I'm looking around the room here and that guy's going to the hall of fame and that guy's going to the hall of fame and I'm going to the hall of fame. Not a chance. I was just, you know, doing baby steps. I tried to be the best I can be so they cannot send me down to the minors or somewhere else. After I made the lineup, my goal was to help the team to score goals. After when I started scoring goals, I was putting a little higher standards every year

to try to raise my game. And that was my goal. I wasn't at all thinking one time in like at all like thinking like you know one time in a hall of fame or my jersey hanging one time somewhere there was like no way that was in my head at all you know my my goal was to win hockey game help the team to win hockey games and try to you know be better hockey player each year that was my goal but like you mentioned that that team in Ottawa we had like really good teams I was there seven years and unbelievable teams we were winning lots of games in the regular seasons but after when the playoffs came we couldn't beat Maple Leafs you know it seems

like Maple is now you know they're unbelievable team and they cannot pass the first round I felt like you know some similarities when I was in Ottawa. I remember Alfredson said the one time that Ty Domi's head wasn't hard, he got cut, and you guys lost a playoff series to them. But the one I remember, Marion, the closest you guys came, I mean, you were right there in 03. You were right there in 03. And I just wonder if you ever like what it was like

just in the room after game seven against new jersey and if after it was all over you guys all said we would have won the stanley cup this year yeah you remember it right uh 2003 uh we were down three one against new jersey they had like really strong defensive team obviously Scott Stevens you know on a blue line uh uh Martin Brodeur in a net like he was like you know stood in his head and it was like really difficult to score goals against them but we find a way win two games all of a sudden there was 3-3 and the seventh game was at home and I think we got like unlucky goal at the end uh by uh by their Jeffff reason yeah yeah exactly you know we couldn't recover from that but on the other hand there was anaheim mighty ducks right uh beating somebody and they were waiting in finals and i just felt like you know everybody else you know i i felt like we

had a better team you know anything could happen. But I just felt like we were like stronger team on the lineup. Anaheim knocked off Detroit. I will never forget that. What a performance that was by the Ducks. Jager. Jager was fantastic. You know, one of the things, okay, I'm going to get on my, I'm going to get on something here.

So one of the things, whenever I end up talking about you, Marion, I always say the same thing i've never seen anyone take a pass better than marion hosa you didn't it seemed like you would never break stride you would never bobble it guys could throw it in your skates no problem guys could throw passes behind you no problem where does that come from because marion i've never seen anyone take passes better than you. Well, I appreciate the compliment. When I was younger, I was playing lots of soccer outside of my apartment. We either play hockey or soccer. When I was younger, I played lots of soccer also for other teams. My feet weren't as maybe as good to be a good soccer player than my hands were with a pug and a stick

so i think i picked the right sport i think that definitely helped to play lots of soccer games and i just felt like you know i told my defenseman sometimes just put it on my feet you know like uh or put it off the board and i'm gonna pick it up some way and obviously sometimes i got lucky but uh you know i just felt like my coordination my feet with my head were working together you know so i just felt pretty confident when the puck was coming to my feet i could pick it up so you would tell defenseman don't worry just throw it towards me it doesn't matter if it's in my feet i got it the gap is so close so something they cannot put you like as a right wing on my back and you know i usually was getting

passed on my back and either i told them like put it behind my back of the board i can you know over skate it or just put it in my feet if their gap is too small and i can pick it up you know but uh you know sometimes work sometimes didn't uh but they knew that so okay now we've got to ask you as a follow-up to jeff's, who was the worst passer you ever made look good? Like, which player, even if they had time, couldn't make a good pass? John Scott was pretty close to be bad passer. You know, that's one of the things in the book that really stood out to me, Marion, was, like, you were always a very calm guy,

like, really good interview, but you're always very honest in your own way. And in the book, you're very honest and talking about John Muckler and Bob Hartley and Mike Babcock and some of the things that you saw and happened to you. Was there anything that you were nervous about to write that you said, you know what, I'm not sure I want to do this, but I'm going to do it? Well, not really, because I don't think I put anybody down. I know I said about Mike Babcock, you know, he was the best coach to prepare the players for the game. And I just felt he was pretty hard on a certain player type of players you know and uh you know that was his style you know which is fine you know some players could burn after a season or two underneath him

i just felt like you know that was that was all true and there is nothing wrong you know like he was unbelievable coach that doesn't make him a bad coach when i say this but his preparation was unreal and uh obviously bob hartley was tough coach too but you know he was sarcastic but also funny you know so you had a good laugh too with Bob he could be honest and you know we had a great time you know he loved me because he could trust me but for some young players it could be really hard that story you told about him saying do you think that was your best effort I used to have a teacher that would do that to me like they would say because you knew if you said yes that's my best effort he would say that's not

good enough and if you said no they would say well why aren't you giving your best effort so when you wrote about that story in the book i had flashbacks to like high school. Like I, I totally understood where you were coming from with that story. Yeah. Yeah. He was pretty special when he stopped the video and it was, you cannot win basically. Right. But,

but he put it in like funny way lots of times. So when there wasn't about you, you could have a good laugh about it. Right. I want to ask you about Slovak hockey right now. Hockey in Slovakia. It seems as if we're going into another golden age. I mean, years previous,

we mentioned Marian Gabryk a second ago. I always want to make sure that Pavel Dimitra's name always gets recognized and mentioned. But we're heading into an era now, and you just look back at the last draft. Slavkovski, Nemec, Meishar, and those are three in the first round. And we all know what happened last year at the Olympics.

Do you have a thought on where hockey in your home country is at right now? Because it looks like it's starting to enter another golden age here. So it's been really quiet lots of years. There age here so it's been a really quiet uh lots of years there was here and there there was like some draft pick yeah but this year there was like big big splash i think the biggest uh in the history in the slovak hockey i'm talking about the draft obviously yeah and uh slavkovsky you know going number one and it's number two you know

they basically broke the record by marrying Gaborik in our country. And that's a huge deal. So I don't think ever before there was so much attention in our country about the draft that this year it was, you know. And there is a close, really close look when I read the media in Slovakia about Slavkovski,ski you know how he's doing it's like never been about the one player like it is now so definitely uh it was great story uh to put slovakia again on the hockey map you know after a long time you know having three first rounders

for such a small country it's it's great now it's up to the guys how they're gonna develop you know how they're gonna take another charge but definitely it's a great great now it's up to the guys how they're gonna develop you know how they're gonna take another charge but definitely it's a great great start after a long time you mentioned you love hockey is is the next phase of your life going to continue in hockey like will we ever see you in management more will we ever see you coaching where do you see this going for you i believe if i would stay in Chicago and live there, you know, I would be closer with the Blackhawks. I could see myself doing something, you know, full time. But because I'm over here, it's difficult. I'm, you know, talking with the

Blackhawks about a certain position too, because I like to be connected with a team. I had a success. I was the longest there with my career. And also my daughter was born in the city. So we definitely is like our second home and we love Chicago. So definitely like to continue to do something with the Blackhawks. You know, maybe it's going to be just a small part for now,

which is fine. But I could see myself do something with the hockey, but nothing major right now because I live in Slovakia. What about Slovak national team or anything like that? Would you coach or be the GM for something like that? Yeah, so Miro Shetan, a longer time ago when I finished my career, we had a meeting, we had a coffee, we talked about it.

He would love me to do something to be involved. But I told him after hockey, I want to take a time off, you know, take a break, take a chart. I mean, my other daughter was born just a couple of months ago. So busy, busy house right now. And I am Congrats. Congrats. Yeah, thank you. And I have my company, you know, with a 250 employees. So we are busy here with a totally different business than hockey. What are you doing?

We have a company I invested a longer time ago, and I am the CEO of the company. It's a food business, basically. We got like 250 employees, around 350 stock items in the stores, and like 50 distribution vehicles, warehouses. And so it's all logistics, you know, so it's totally something different. But it's cool to learn something new and get more involved to the business side of the stuff. That's awesome.

Great hands, great feet, great brain. Marian, congratulations on the book. It's a wonderful read. Best of luck with the and and best of luck with whatever is next for marion hosa thanks so much for joining us yeah it was fun thanks guys for having me appreciate it good to see you good to see you too thank you very much marion yeah thank you good to see you guys ciao incredible hockey player with an incredible story thank Thank you to Marian Hossa for stopping by the podcast. Again, the book called Hossa, My Journey from Trenchon to the Hall of Fame.

And by the way, don't forget a new podcast coming out Friday morning. So that is the 30th. We'll record Thursday evening for a Friday morning drop back to a, I guess, quasi-regular schedule here around the shop. Taking us out is our house band from last season. to a, I guess, quasi-regular schedule here around the shop. Taking us out is our house band from last season.

Jane's Party dropped a new album this past year, and it's great. From that record, here's Jane's Party with Live Again on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Enjoy. Been a year since the misery Since I had it on top I felt the weight of the history Can't find a way to make you stop Then comes a man with a cigarette He got the lily white tie

Yeah, he's the one but you don't know him You keep on asking him why So if you wanna get a little bit closer But you don't know it yet You keep on asking him why He said So if you wanna get a little bit closer You're gonna have to try And if you're gonna be the one left standing You gotta learn to live again I wanna learn to live again

Now everybody wants a piece of me Now everybody's in shock You took the fun out of the mystery You lost the keys to the lock Then comes a man with a cigarette He got them family ties Makes you want something that you won't regret Just sign the dotted line

She said So if you wanna get a little bit closer You're gonna have to try And if you're gonna be the one left standing You gotta learn to live again I wanna learn to live again So you're gonna be a broken heart And you'll get to run away and start it

And I could use a little cedar red And I could use a little time