normal

I want to act normal

like the folks on TV

who are everything I

would like to see

when I look in the mirror

there I am

sad, lonely, and sorry

and I don't give a damn

I want to be normal

like the man on the street

friendly and caring

to every person I meet

but instead I pull inward

and I can't see outside

to the love and friendship

that I've been denied

if you know normal

if that's what you see

please take your secret

and give it to me

I won't pass it on

that's what I won't do

I want to act normal

exactly like you

wasting time

sitting in the sunshine

waiting for the rain

someone stop me quickly

before I start to complain

that time moves swiftly

like an old steam engine train

and I am wasting time

waiting for something 

to come my way

until it comes

nothing good to say

if it's going to happen

it's going to happen anyway

and I am wasting time

          nothing happens

          I still worry

          I ask myself

          what's the hurry

someday soon

I know it will

be waiting for me

quiet and still

until peace comes

I've had my fill

and I am wasting time

and I am wasting time

waiting for a ride

I am waiting for a ride

to take me off into adventure.

I've been waiting all my life.

I say to myself

any day now

any day now

party in the yard

I am riding on the city bus

it's the fourth of July

the sun has git no clouds today

the weather's warm and dry

everybody's taking it easy

nobody's working too hard

and that house that we're passing

there's a party in the yard

there's people by the barbeque

an ancient boom box playing tunes

a bunch of youngsters running

throwing water balloons

I imagine chicken and potato salad

and tortilla chips and beer

I life that I would love to live

if I wasn't stuck on here

it's hard to be alone on holidays

more than any other time

the rhythm's not in tempo

the lyrics never rhyme

I look out at the family

and envy what they've got

I ride the bus home

pretending what I'm not

happy fourth of July to everyone

as I stay home alone

listening to fireworks

drinking beer and getting stoned

so as you meet with every friend

every neighbor on your path

take some time to look around

and appreciate what you have

do you have a secret

do you have a secret

whisper in my ear

I won't tell anybody

no one will ever hear

tell me if you want to

I won't share a word

I will assure you

your secret's never heard

do you have a secret

you've carried your whole life

whose sharp words and emotions

cut you like a knife

if you have a secret

you can set it free

you can keep it buried

or you can tell me

every mistake

today is the day

where every mistake I have ever made

comes to mind

no matter what I do

every mistake comes shining through

I can't leave them behind

so many wrong decisions

so many I cannot live in

a world where everything I do

turns out wrong

today is the day

where no matter what happens

I can't forgive myself

I think I'm okay

feet in air and fingers snapping

I need to be somebody else

so many empty movements

find no way to self-improvement

in a world where everything I do

turns out wrong

I don't belong

but I'll be strong

because every mistake

that I make

has tried to teach me

take it easy on yourself

summer is calling

the crows are talking to themselves

the squirrels are hiding in telephone poles

cats are staring out of windows

and ladies are wearing their summer clothes

and me, I wish I was gone

I wish I had a highway to drive away on

because summer is calling

and I feel like I'm falling

behind