25 Degrees North

My friend gave everything he owns away
And my friend says now he's happier that way
He said did you ever notice that the more you own, the more worries you have?
I thought about my rent check and my bank account and couldn't help but understand

He told me that he's going back to Santa Cruz to live on a boat
Without a phone or a thing in his hands
I'll stay in Chicago to work and go to school
And fuck off with my shitty fucking band

He said "Brendan, you should try it, it makes you feel so good"
Brendan, you should try it, it makes you feel so good
So I threw away a stereo and some clothes
To show I understood

Down on the Gulf Coast the people look so happy
Money gets you laid, I saw it on TV
A brand new car, a VCR, a satellite dish and a 6 pack
Just a few parts of the American dream

Well my friend had a dream to be free
He made it come true by giving away his TV
Yeah, my friend had a dream to be free
He made it come true with a backpack and his feet

And now I walk along the city street and no one smiles or talks to me
I see possessions that run peoples' lives
Everything we own makes us afraid to be friends
Sharing used to be natural, it'll never be that way again

But my friend relearned how to be a human being
How to stop and talk to people on the street
He gave everything he owned away
And lives his dream with just a backpack and his feet