Sit chill in a stone-cold dormitory bathroom, keeping out the sunrise
Dust-lined mirror shows I'm still bloodshot, unshaved and tired
But I'm wired, still coming off of a cheap-wine buzz from the previous evening
Wish I'd slept, but that brings dreams and things I don't want to see
Memories of when I was young, when friends were first getting their smoker's lungs
I was close to my books and neighbors, video players, daytime reruns
Old Nickelodeon shows. While mom's folding up clothes I'd read about good men
Who knew when it was time for them to just stand up and hold the line, but I
Grew up and got through high school, living in the real world, much less black and white
And I love these shadows but I miss the light of a story that turns out right
The way it ought, so I fought to find a way to get back to my bed
Because I still live in the neighborhood
School feels like a summer camp

And I don't miss the weather, but something in the wind
Held me together, back home without
The shifting chills and cable bills and songs to help me sleep
And now I'm running on calloused feet 'til someone else sees
The pretty ghost that's been haunting me

A dead parade of alumni calling insomniacs to arms
To lift a toast to buying out the farm
Laughing at the brand-new frat boys throwing up in their backyards
We tip our hats to the lineage, we know our father's names
But I don't wanna come the way they came, books and drinks the same
To grow up divorced and middle-aged
'Cause it seems they're missing what kids still have
You can tell by listening when they laugh
'Cause everything's funny in a different way
Once you've betrayed what you believed, and I see that
But I need a foothold, family, stories I can try to live
Even if I can't still be kid, how can I rest without a place where I can lay my head?

And I don't miss the weather, but something in the wind
Held me together
Back home without
The shifting chills and cable bills and songs to help me sleep
So now I'm running on calloused feet 'til someone else sees
The pretty ghost that's been haunting me

And I don't know about what to do without
Can I keep my little dreams?
History is shutting me out
And I'm jaded from collective memories, so
Save me
One more dance by the playground swings
I'll grow up but there's a few things I intend to keep
Storybook living