A Quarter Century

[Verse 1]
Tomorrow I turn 25
All my friends are getting high
I’m joking that the speed of life is catching up to me
With all the weaker ways we pass the time
Blow our smoke and act surprised
When someone sees a message in the chemicals we breathe
I know I’m tired now from that alone
Wearing someone’s tattered clothes
To sneak out of the house
And walk on eggshells through the leaves
So I panic like a parent would, ick my habits out for good
I’ll see you at the wake when our captains rest in peace

[Chorus]
And the miracles we buried beneath our living room couches
Someday, they’ll come back to me if I leave home without them
I don’t know the meaning of life, or what life means to me
But until that great adventure arrives, this is how we’ll always be

[Verse 2]
Remember turning 17 with emptiness ahead of me
Then a girl named Anne gave me a rainbow I could keep
To color in my happiness in sanctuary mattress beds
That weren’t as black and white as all my airport poetry
And every stupid song I sent to you, post office confessionals
Most of the words we write are someday torn up into sheets
Maybe this is goodbye for good
Someday, I might write our book
We’d make a great story, but that one’s escaping me

[Chorus]
And I hope your new boyfriend has posture
Like the Colorado mountains
I hope he’s tall and wise just like them
'Cause if not, how’s he helping?
Annie, I can draw you a sun, I can draw you a sea
But until our great adventure revives
This is where we’ll always be

[Verse 3]
I hope my grandpa made some friends
Just wandering around again
Telling everybody stories of his favorite teams
And all the trophies they hang on the walls
Of championship basketball
How my momma had the strongest shot in the whole league
This town will hold a mass for you
And name all the streets after you
And all the people that you loved will get up there to read
Remember racing in your van in and out of traffic jams
I can’t believe I made that flight to Colorado Springs

[Chorus]
I hope that there’s somewhere we can go
If paradise is crowded
I know you’ll find your place in the sun
'Cause I see you in my shadow
I don’t know the meaning of death
Or what death means to me
But until that great adventure arrives
This is who I’ll always be

[Bridge]
Tomorrow, I turn 25
I don’t wanna laugh or cry
I’m joking that the grim reaper is catching up with me
And all the parables I tell myself
Like someday, this'll all unveil
For now the footnotes still have bandages that wrap their feet

[Chorus]
And this hand-me-down emotion you’ve left out for me barely fits
It’s just a quarter century, kid, you can’t be sick of it yet
I don’t know the meaning of life, or what life means to be
But until that great adventure arrives
Until that great adventure arrives