I am not hopeless

I'm not as helpless 

as you think I am

I will find my way 

out of this jam

right now things look hopeless

but your eyes deceive you

the only way to cope is

in what you say and do

I am not hopeless

I've known it all along

you may think I'm weak

but I know I am strong

I'll wake up tomorrow

and find a brand new day

trouble may cause sorrow

but I will find a way

          problems may knock 

          hard on my front door

          but they won't possess me 

          like they did before

I am not helpless

I still have my dignity

I have found the courage

hiding deep inside of me

I don't need your worrying

and I don't want your fear

one way or another

I will make it out of here

my persistence is something

I cannot ignore

I am not helpless

anymore 

I still have my mind

you have your facts and figures

about my biology

you've got your mind made up

when it's concerning me

can I meet your approval?

can I pass all your tests?

can I believe your opinions

when you say you know what's best?

          there is more to me

          than you'll ever see

          you have not witnessed

          my history

          you're looking for

          what you will never find

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

I can still remember

the places of my past

I can still do long division

my knowledge seems to last

I may need help in some things

but listen, so do you

I've still got some miles to go

before my journey's through

          there is more to me

          than you'll ever see

          you have not witnessed

          my history

          you're looking for

          what you will never find

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

so take your facts and figures

your plans and studies too

take your unanswered questions

and all the stuff you do

you think you know what's right for me

but you don't have a grasp

take all your false projections

and shove them up your ass

          there is more to me

          than you'll ever see

          you have not witnessed

          my history

          you're looking for

          what you will never find

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

   

worried

I am worried

that's what I do

it doesn't matter

if it isn't true

all of the day

and all of the night

I worry about

everything in sight

come the morning

I wake and find

that worrying has

taken over my mind

I'm tense and nervous

and I'm afraid

that my worrying has

to be obeyed

          take your problems

          make them bigger

          out of proportion

          pull the trigger

          take your problems

          make them worse

          is it a blessing

          or a curse?

I worry about

everything I see

with all the strength

inside of me

I know that it does

no damn good

but I still worry

like I think I should

          take your problems

          make them large

          let them know

          they're in charge

          take your problems

          make them devour

          all your hope

          they've got the power

I am worried

I'm in bad shape

it holds me hostage

I can't escape

my worrying knows

how to attack

but one day I

will fight back

I miss being young

I miss being young

my life spread out before me

like a four-lane Texas highway

that never ends

laughter on my tongue

trouble would ignore me

my parents still alive

good times with all my friends

appreciating stillness

never fearing illness

looking toward the future

with every youthful breath

now I am an old man

doing everything I can

to try not to think about

my upcoming death

I miss being young

hitchhiking by the roadside

flirting with the girls

being one of the boys

climbing every rung

joy was never denied

taking every opportunity

to make a joyful noise

appreciating friendship

not having to defend it

experiencing freedom

with a song inside my heart

now I am an old man

fighting to understand

the meaning of my life

and why I must depart

          no need for excuses

          no reason and no rhyme

          now I just feel useless

          and I need some more time

I miss being young

searching for a companion

hunting for adventure

I never was afraid

always having fun

I never felt abandoned

I never had regrets

for the decisions I have made 

summers in the sunshine

I never feared the bad times

I never thought there'd come a day

when my songs would all be sung

now I am an old man

and I do not give a damn

somehow I still feel hopeful

like my life has just begun

I still want tomorrow

I miss being young

driving across Texas

life takes a long time

when you're driving across Texas

with the windows wide open

and the radio on

destination's clear

and the family expects us

we'll be home by morning

sometime after dawn

you try your damn best

when you're driving across Texas

beer in paper bags

you wish you had AC

eyes on the highway

I hope no one forgets us

there will be better times

for you and for me

          three more hours to Austin

          the engine is humming

          a tune we've always known

          you can tell all the neighbors

          that we are coming

          home

look how the summer stars

shine on the windshield

there's no chance of rain

on this hot July night

unending white lines

tumbleweeds in the field

we're both bone dead tired

but we're feeling all right

          three more hours to Austin

          the engine is humming

          a tune we've always known

          you can tell all the neighbors

          that we are coming

          home 

life takes a long time

when you're driving across Texas

one more Dr. Pepper

one more cigarette

we'll drive forever

if common sense lets us

vanish into the night

we'll get there yet   

          

sweet yesterdays

all my sweet yesterdays

I can see them in my mind

all the people in my past

all the ones I've left behind

they return now and I smile

hoping they will stay a while

keeping me from being alone
coming back to take me home

lost inside of memory

I remember you back then

singing songs down at the beach

you were more than just a friend

when I heard you went away

there was nothing I could say

I could not pretend to know

tell me why you had to go

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

the mistakes that I have made

they come back to haunt me now

they overtake my thoughts

and I really don't know how

this is not the way it seems

they never visit in my dreams

except now they come into view

and all I really know is you

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

all my sweet yesterdays

I will never get my fill

I still have them in my mind

and I know I always will

and I know I always will

          

hiding place

the night is frozen

it's as still as an unknown breeze

it's what has been chosen

it'll bring you to your knees

you say "where am I?"

but you know just where you are

in the blink of an eye

in the falling of a star

          you are here

          exactly where you've been

          someday you will return

          to the hiding place again

everything is broken

nothing is the same

all these words unspoken

except the sound of your own name

you say "who am I?"

but the answer doesn't come

all you can do is try

the trial has begun

          you are here

          exactly where you've been

          someday you will return

          to the hiding place again