Skin O' My Teeth
Countdown to Extinction
1992
Duration: 3:16
Track number: 1
Writers
Lyrics by: Dave Mustaine
Music by: Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson, Nick Menza
Theme
A fast-paced track dealing with attempts at suicide, self-destruction, and miraculously surviving near-death experiences. The title refers to the idiom 'clinging on by the skin of my teeth,' emphasizing survival against overwhelming odds and reflecting Mustaine's tumultuous past.
Lyrics
I had wrists donning slits
Flowing constantly
My broken body in a wreck
Wrapped around a tree
A crosswalk hit and run
The finish line for me
People clutter in the gutter
Take a look and see
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clinging on to life
By the **skin o' my teeth**
My blood flows through the streets
Deluge from the wounds
Empty jars of sleeping pills
On the dresser in my room
My wet brain neighbor cranes
His neck to see in time
The white light's a train
Bearing down on me
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clinging on to life
By the **skin o' my teeth**
I won't feel the hurt
I'm not trash any longer
That death doesn't kill me
Only makes me stronger
I need a ride to the morgue
That's what 911 is for
So, tag my toe and don't forget
Ooh to close the drawer
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clinging on to life
By the **skin o' my teeth**
