The Joke Explained Wilco

[Verse 1]
I never held your gaze
I never know my place
Oh, I stare at the eyes starin' at my face
It always ends in a tie
There is no knitting the divide
I cry at the joke explained

[Chorus]
Ah, but if I had known, if I had known
If I had known, I would have never believed

[Verse 2]
I never smoked my chain
Whoever measures the crest
Ah, they can have my broken chest
It's a staring contest
In a hall of mirrors
I sweat tears, but I don't ever cry

[Chorus]
Ah, if I had known, if I had known
If I had known, I would have never believed

[Verse 3]
I never knelt at the news
My parrot perished in the pews
I climb back into the yolk
It always ends in a tie
There is no knitting the divide
I cry at the joke explained