i wish that i could ever only ride the tide
go about my day and be satisfied
i know i can be hard to please

but i wouldn't wanna trade for another life
even when it keeps me up at night
and my mind's flying overseas

i feel like myself, today
i feel like myself, in a strange way
i still don't know where i'm going
but that's just how i know it, anyway

all this searching all this wasting time
tryna move ahead tryna make it mine
it all seems out of reach

i listened to the beatles and the rolling stones
the cure, the clash and the ramones
they couldn't give me what i need

i feel like myself, today
i feel like myself, in a strange way
i still don't know where i'm going
but that's just how i know it, anyway
anyway
anyway

i turned right and left the highway
where the sign read ocean view
with my eyes on the horizon
looking for a place to start anew

i pulled over to the shoulder
got out, left the motor on
the sky was burning like a warning
dolphins pulling down the fireball

even though i don't believe in what you said
i find myself repeating all of it
from time to time
i can't get it off my mind
when i only want you to lean in
and hold me like a little boy

some old lady saw me waiting
like a towel on the line
with her hat and leather jacket
mint green queen of england style

then i drove back onto the highway
straight into the black of night
a myriad of conversations
i meant to have but never really tried

even though i don't believe in what you said
i find myself repeating all of it
from time to time
i can't get it off my mind
when i only want you to lean in
and hold me like a little boy

i’m double the age i was when i was seventeen
sometimes i still feel caught in a teenie dream
not the one with butterflies
lip gloss rosy kiss goodbye
no, i mean the anxious kind

i’ve got all i need somehow it’s not enough
one look in the mirror and i call the bluff
and my hair is just as long
as when i wrote my first song
and played it for a girl i liked

i guess, growing up takes a lifetime
the years stack up ahead 
as they are left behind
i keep my guard up for the long ride
is there anyone
who’s gonna ride along
with me

every now and then i think i’ve got it straight
i can read the markers and i’m on my way
like a recurring melody
the world comes crashing over me
drowning out the guiding light

i guess, growing up takes a lifetime…

thinking about the time when i turn seventy
i’m worried for the world and for humanity
everyone still on their phone
my kids with kids of their own
and what’s haunting them at night

i guess, growing up takes a lifetime…

you knocked on my door
and i let you in
made you a home
right here under my skin

it wasn't always fun
it was quite something
i struggled to see
the world that you live in

though you bear my name
we're not one and the same
you may swim, fly or run
yeah, you can be anything, anything that you want

i could always see
it in your eyes
you'll go catch the sun
right when you see it rise

here comes the dawn
yet i still feel you hanging on
just know that you belong
where you can be anything, anything that you want

i unlocked every door
and i opened the windows wide
so you know
the last thing i want
is stand in your way

if you grow wings
or fins or feathers or sails
you'll hold your own
and it won't be long
'till you're out and away

now you're free to spin
no one's gonna reign you in
there is no right or wrong
no, you can be anything, anything that you want
yeah, you can be anything, anything that you want

i saw a spark
i watched it die out in the dark
a little flickering of light
that tried to shine
but drowned out in the night

i closed my eyes
and waited for the sun to rise
but the night kept dragging on
as i waved this daylight life
so long

i heard a sound
heard it coming from the underground
it called me by my name
said, duck down
pack up and walk away

from way up high i watched the light
spiral up and down my spine
then i crawled back into my skin
a newborn thought
that's brought up from within

go start a fire
and watch the flames grow high & higher
give it all your oxygen
a thousand sparks flying
in the evening wind

open your heart
oh let it shine, and let it spark
may it carry you away
out of the dark
into the light of day

baby, don’t you worry, we will figure it out
counting on our love and make it count
take it back to the start

crazy when you think of everything on the line
the time of our lives, a lifetime
all up against the wall

and if you knew this, would you do it all again?
i know if we wanna go till the very end

we’ve gotta give it, give it, give it all we got
we’ve gotta give it, give it, give it all we got
or we won’t get back up

maybe all we need is just a little more time
finding hard, so hard to find
that tiny little peace of mind

baby, don’t you worry, we will not back down
take another turn, turn it around
'till we’ve got both feet on the ground

and if you knew this, would you do it all again?
i know if we wanna go till the very end

we’ve gotta give it, give it, give it all we got
we’ve gotta give it, give it, give it all we got
or we won’t get back up

ooh, give it all
ooh, all we got

we’ve gotta give it, give it, give it all we got
we’ve gotta give it, give it, give it all we got
or we won’t get back up

you wake up to tell me when
to come help you fix your battle plan
your big smile is on the news
your hot seat is soft and bullet-proof

i'm the pacer in your heart
i'm your armor, i'm your bodyguard
i'm your beauty pageant queen
i'm the driver of your limousine
one call and i will drive all over town

when the big shit hits the fan
you go hide out on your island
there on the beach you shed your skin
dodge the bullets and begin again

i'm the loser in your scheme
i'm your walking cash machine
i'm a pawn in your defense
i'm a kill without consequence
so you can sell your lies in fancy free

i'm a dreamer, i'm a child
i still need to see you smile
i'm a sucker for your charms
wrap me in your poison arms
and tell me you will never leave

same old window, same old view
pale white fog and morning dew
first rays of sunlight coming in
make their way across my skin
the birds are singing all so clear
and the flowers reappear
each & every little thing
ready to be born again

how could i ever ask for more
this is plenty worth living for
to be here for another day
open armed, come what may

i'll wait here until you wake
and walk in with my birthday cake
we will sing and dance around
until i blow the candles out
me oh my oh, lucky me
isn’t this a jubilee
your smile in the morning light
your sweet loving in the night

how could i ever ask for more
this is plenty worth living for
another trip around the sun
with you, is all i want

when there is rain
hail or snow
you're with me all the same
and that’s how you know
like no one else
to tame my sorrow

on the brightest day
in the darkest night
you know just what to say
to remind me that
the sun will shine
tomorrow

how could i ever ask for more
this is plenty worth living for
another trip around the sun
with you, is all i want

you broke down crying
coming back from trying to rescue love
with your face all dripping slipping
leaving stains out on the lawn
as the moon came peeking
from behind a fallen tree
wrapped you in its glory
lay you down and sang this lullaby

then your eyes filled with what
once was but an empty thought
and your spirit spinning dreaming
like it's never gonna stop
a future spoke to your surprise
you could see
wisdom drip like water
into this empty night

all light
shines wider
than darkness
ever might

you witnessed all the
jigsaw pieces falling into place
a magnificent impression
made its home upon your face
if change is all
we're going through infinitely
we might as well be laughing
at the cost of our impossibility

you took off floating glowing
like a big hot air balloon
jupiter was there to greet you
from the other room
time expanded evenly
across the sky
and carefully erased
the reels inside your mind

all light
shines wider
than darkness
ever might

ever since that night
you're sleeping like never before
and the moon keeps smiling from
behind its elevator door
in every dream
you can make the stars align
perfectly above
the ceiling in the sky

all light
shines wider
than darkness
ever might

the only way to pass the time
fast forward, play, stop & rewind
and you're with me
momentarily
entwined

i pulled the sheets off your disguise
pawn shop tear drops in my eyes
you don't need
my company
to fly

i watch the ashtray fill with rain
sifting through your things i sing your name
i hate the cards they're sending me
full of corny poetry

don't you worry, nevermind
the empty days you leave behind
there's relief
when all this grief
subsides

no more trying to read between the lines
of somebody else's tangled mind
you turned around and waved to me
took off for infinity

one last time now in reverse
the center of the universe
is full of scars
and unborn stars
to nurse

i'll be carried by the water
if i step across the border
i'll be safe from harm
i'm a rafter when i'm floating
when i watch the sky explode
i am a vagabond

i can try & try & try
try as long as i need to
i will try & try & try
somewhere down the line
i will meet you
and hold on to your wisdom like a child

i'm a tumbleweed in motion
you’re a shell deep in the ocean
of my mind
you can change the bearing
anytime and anywhere
i fall behind

i can try & try & try
try as long as i need to
i will try & try & try
somewhere down the line
i will meet you
and hold on to your wisdom like a child