Like ghosts on open windows
          The curtains rise and fall
          The past is a foreign country
          At the dark end of the hall
          And the morning is an offering
          To the shelter of the day
          But the violent come
          And they bury it away

          Time goes by at the speed of life
          Slower than a slow dance on a hot summer night
          Faster than the skin breaks on the edge of a knife
          And we just go on at the speed of life

          Like questions begging answers
          The stars appear at night
          What's it mean to love somebody?
          What's it mean to be alive?

          I heard a little girl laughing at her first sight of snow
          Saw an old man dying in a room he didn't know

          While the world turns through the ages
          It's a most peculiar ride
          Holding on to one another
          Moving at the speed of life

          We just go on at the speed of life
          Family on the midway in the carnival lights
          Moving in a circle through the sounds and the lights
          And it all goes by at the speed of life

          I'll play guitar to make the rent
          And you can make our family three
          I might not make a million dollars
          But a million dollars won't make me
          I'm lookin' out on the stars tonight
          Thinkin' about this human zoo
          There's poor old Leo watchin' the cars roll by
          Screamin' up at who knows who
          Believe in you
          And I'll believe in me

          Desperate men divided
          In these glorious fields of green
          We all pray to heaven
          To help us mend this broken machine
          There's too much talk about the clouds of gray
          When there's a great big sky of blue
          I turn of the tv, and look in your eyes
          And I know that I've found something true
          Just believe in you
          And I'll believe in me

          This is the age of the icons made of sand
          From the rock and roll star, to the local preacher man
          From the baseball player, to the politician with his plans
          Well darlin' just believe in you
          And I'll believe in you, too

          Now someone's gonna sue for harassment
          Someone goona sue 'cause they can't forget
          Someone gonna sue poor old Philip J. Morris
          For selling 'em one too many cigarettes
          And Philip Morris, well he'll probably sue me
          For puttin' his name in this song
          And all across America
          We try and teach our children how to get along
          Believe in you
          And I'll believe in me

          It's time to greet the world
          Life size, open your eyes
          You've picked apart every word she ever spoke
          Your life's a joke, get out of bed
          Cause you're not dead
          In fact, you're all you got

          So move if you're goin'
          Better run if you can
          Better move if you're goin'
          Get your head out of the sand
          You gotta run with the moment
          While the moment is at hand
          You better move if you're goin'
          Better run with your right foot forward, man

          Winds moan, clouds roar
          Shut the blinds, chain the door
          Fight the ghost in your head
          Play dead
          What's happened to you?
          Wonderful you?

          You better move if you're goin'
          Run if you can
          Just move if you're goin'
          Get your head out of the sand
          You gotta run with emotion
          Like an emotional man
          Better move if you're goin'
          Better run with your right foot forward, man

          Soldier of misfortune
          You're ready to breakdown
          Ready to breakdown
          Breakdown

          Just move if you're goin'
          Run if you can
          Just move if you're goin'
          Get your head out of the sand
          You gotta run with the moment
          While the moment is at hand
          Better move if you're goin'
          Better run like, run like superman

          Sitting on the back porch
          Everybody be damned
          Head in your hands
          No particular plans
          But oh so many thoughts
          And dreams unheard
          Words are nothing but words
          (Words are nothing but words)

          See the little children rollin' in the yard
          And the sun goes down until it's almost dark
          And hear the train cry so many miles away
          Another train, another day

          If you ever make your mind up
          I know you will be somebody, I know
          Part of you wants to be everybody
          But don't be afraid to fall

          Mason got his
          You know that he did
          He put his greedy eyes right over the lid
          And oh, the bomb went off
          Right in his face
          He'll wear the scars with grace

          Walking past the church
          You make the sign of the cross
          Hey god, it wouldn't cost you anything
          To throw some light my way
          See, I'm a little low on life today
          A little low on life today
          Low on life today
          Lowlife

          I go to church on sunday morning
          Come home and beat my wife
          My name is Joe, and you know me
          I've lived here all of my life
          What a life

          I've got this pain I cannot speak of
          I'm not so bad as people say
          Go two kids who look like angels
          But sometimes, sometimes I wish they'd fly away

          Life is good, you know we're lucky
          Living in the u.s.a.
          We've got everything we ever dreamed of
          Darlin' I don't know why
          I don't know why I act this way

          My next door neighbor's got a problem
          He works hard, it don't seem fair
          His wife's a teacher at the grade school
          And we've been having this affair

          I've been a son, I've been a soldier
          I've thrown the football in the rain
          The blood of murderers and millionaires is pounding
          Pounding through my veins

          But life is good, you know we're lucky
          Living in the u.s. of a.
          And we got everything we ever dreamed of
          Baby I don't know why
          I don't know why I act this way

          When Kennedy was in the white house
          We were children in the sun
          Smokin' candy cigarettes
          Cowboys and indians with wooden guns

          Some nights I go down to the basement
          With thoughts I do not understand
          A purple heart and a loaded pistol
          And I just hold 'em
          Hold 'em in my hands

          Life is good, you know we're lucky
          'cause baby this is the U.S.A.
          And we got everything we ever dreamed of
          Darlin' I don't know why
          No, I don't know why I act this way
          I don't know why I act this way

          I'm the old man at the dance hall
          I'm the young man in his grave
          I'm the one you're gonna cry for
          When you find I've gone away
          There's a phone booth on a corner
          A thousand miles from here
          With a thousand miles between us
          She could whisper in my ear

          But sheila don't remember
          Our secret little sin
          No, Sheila don't remember
          Where my hands have been

          There's a letter in my pocket
          There's a stone inside my shoe
          There's a footprint in her yard
          Where a man walked on the moon
          Sail on wind, sail on water
          Roll on wheels down ancient roads
          This heart can only take me where the angels fear to go

          And Sheila don't remember
          The way she wasted me
          Or the lovers who have suffered
          Against her memory

          Never knew the peace of understanding
          Never knew the joy of no regret
          How could you let me do those things to you
          And just forget
 

          Liven up, loose the chains
          It's hard to lie down in the driving rain
          I lost a job I thought I had
          My friends say maybe that ain't so bad
          You gotta lose boy to learn to win
          Life's just a game I'll never understand

          But the ride is rough
          And you fall, you better get back up
          Take the reins by the hand
          And learn to fall like a man

          My baby called from the south of france
          Said I know what you want buddy
          But there ain't chance
          I finally found my pot of gold
          And what you hide man, is yours to hold
          Well baby darlin, I'm just a man
          And love's just a game I'll never understand
          She said, the ride is rough
          And when you fall, you better get back up
          Take the reins by the hand
          And learn to crawl like a man
          Brother if you can
          You learn to crawl like a man

          Dream town, no money down
          Young girls shine electric in the sun
          Mirror mirror up in the sky
          Tell me why should I be the lowly one

          Big splash, low on cash
          I don't know why and baby I don't care
          See it comes and goes, it's the highs and the lows
          Of the hundred dollar millionaire

          I promised her I wouldn't stay
          She calls me every single day
          But the rain don't snow and the hurt don't show
          And I don't think I can let it go on
          Madison, Madison
          It's a long way home Madison

          Heartbreaker what does it take?
          How many times can a fool say I forgive
          Before he falls into a stranger's arms and finds out
          What it's really like to live?

          You could say you're sorry in your sleep
          You apologies are cheap
          But my heart feels strange like something's changed like
          I don't think I'll be back again to Madison
          It's a long way home Madison

          I'll write your name down on a pretty red balloon
          Give it a kiss and let it fly straight to the moon

          My heart feels strange like something's changed like
          I have been born again
          Madison, Madison
          It's a long way home Madison

          The earth was trembling on their wedding day
          The sun sun was cold, the sky was chrome
          They spoke their lines like actors in a play
          Changed their clothes and hurried home
          Now in their dreams the season lingers
          There is no wisdom in this pain
          She turns the ring around her finger
          He hopes that somehow things will change

          We cry to the wind to mend what's broken
          But where on earth can we rest assured?
          Who'll spin these dreams into something golden?
          Who'll fix the hole at the top of the world?

          The dogs were howling around the white house
          Election day in the land of the mall
          I have no hopes, no expectations
          I watch my shadow grow on the wall
          And through my heart this empty wind blows
          There is no wisdom in this pain
          There are no bars across these windows
          But I'm a prisoner just the same

          We cry to the wind to mend what's broken
          But where on earth can we rest assured?
          Who'll spin these dreams into something golden?
          Who'll fix the hole at the top of the world?

          If our hearts became our anvils
          If wisdom's hammer was in our hands
          Could you and I build something better?
          Do you think our hearts would understand?

          Rain down mercy for the lost and lonely child
          For the liars and the losers, the reckless and the wild
          There's no more use in pretending
          I know I never fooled you
          The deepest darkness I've ever known comes
          From living like I do
          But I swear I'm gonna knock on that gate
          Even if it's all in vain
          I'll stand outside with my mouth wide open
          And drink the pouring rain
          I know there's some good left in this world
          I've seen it shine in your eyes

          So rain down salvation, and keep my faith alive
          The harder we fall, the closer we come
          To finding our hearts and the damage we've done
          Darlin' I've held the devil's dirty hand
          But holding you now, I know
          Is heaven's last attempt

          So won't you walk beside me, you know I can't make it alone
          Here the fields are dark and the wind is hard, hard as stone
          Roll out the sky and let me come home, come home
          I wanna come home

          The harder we fall, the closer we come
          To finding the light and the warmth of the sun
          All that I've ever had I've let slip through my hands
          But holding you now, I know is heaven