Living in exile ain't the way to go
It's just another way of dying
A whole lot of faces that you call your own
All those faces are crying

You either run or you hide
Now you slip, now you slide
You say you will, but you won't
You either do or you don't

Living in exile, just gotta let it go
You know that it's true
Just like a little child, you've got to crawl away
It's the last chance for you, now

You either run or you hide
Now you slip, now you slide
You say you will, but you won't
You either do or you don't

Somebody's got to see this through
All the world is laughing at you
Somebody's got to sacrifice
If this whole thing's gonna turn out right

You either run or you hide
Now you slip, now you slide
You say you will, but you won't
You either do or you don't

You either run or you hide
Now you slip, now you slide
Now you will, now you won't
You either do or you don't
You either do or you don't
You either do or you don't
You either do or you don't

---

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

As with so many songs on this album, Lindsey is talking about his break with FM. He was unhappy. He felt like he was "living in exile", and his creativity and even soul was "dying." However, leaving was not an easy decision. He had grappled with it since Tusk didn't do as well as he had hoped and he'd first felt creatively frustrated. He kept saying he was going to leave, he said he would but he wouldn't, and he's challenging himself to go ahead and take the plunge. He's got to "let it go", give up FM and "crawl away," starting anew "like a little child." It's his "last chance" to get away and find peace of mind creatively. He's got to go ahead, to "see this through" - he's got to "sacrifice" the security of FM to make his hopes for the future "turn out right." (Isn't it great how he changes the meaning of these exact words so deftly in Bleed to Love Her?) He's got to stop hiding and start running, stop "slipping" and "sliding" and start being happy.