Lost Along the Path (A rock Operetta)

How much will I know? How much can I do? 

How much is illusion? How much will be true?

I am on my own, who will be my guide? 

I detect a feeling, will it stay inside?

When the sun rises and it’s milking time

The cows come from the field in single file

They take the same stalls they always have

And let themselves be drained of milk awhile

It doesn’t change, just set your watch

You’ll see the same thing every day

And when they’re done, they go and follow

Those well-worn cowpaths on their way

We often live our lives like cattle

We follow blindly down the trail

Never even think to take a detour

We just stick to the shore and won’t set sail

Don’t be unique, don’t take a chance

Or you could get caught out in the rain

And so, we stay safely in numbers

It’s no wonder we’re barely sane

His eyes first saw the light on that early April day

The cozy world that he had known had just been cut away

His first screams soon found some comfort

In his mother’s breast

As she dreamed how her little boy would grow up to be the best

There is no pressure at the starting gate

But the course is set and it’s starting to get late

He grew up in the suburbs in a family collared blue

One step above a trailer park with no yard and no view

Money was always tight, and budgets were the rule

You can’t go to camp son, you have to use the public pool

He didn’t have many friends so he’d end up alone

Just like ripples setting out from a sinking stone

I’m growing up big and strong

My parents hope it won’t take long

And sometimes I wonder out loud, geeze, will I ever make it

Fish sticks every Friday night

And Tuesday’s meatloaf burned just right

But it seems Mom serves spaghetti more than she’d like to

At least I have my own bed, and a tin roof overhead

This isn’t so bad of a life living in this childhood

Shop Salvation Army for clothes

Use Mentholatum for runny nose, 

And aspirin, crushed ice and Coke for those times I have fever

Son, you need to clean up your room

And when you’re done come get the broom

Mom isn’t home much, you see, so you have to pitch in

I listened to the stuff nuns taught

And learned I just shouldn’t get caught

So I end up cutting corners as I live this childhood

Second hand bikes for me, the pogo sticks and stilts, they’re free. And playing basketball is my favorite pastime

On weekends I sleep in late, the Sunday school it ain’t so great Let’s get the chores done so we can watch football on TV

I go to the next grade every year

And each time there’s a bit more fear

I’m trying the best that I can to be pleased with this childhood

Dad done his duty in the great World War

But he paid the price and forever wore the scar

As an excuse for his miserable life

With a geeky little son and a suffering wife

Hey Dad, how you doing tonight? 

The TV shows are over, should I turn out the light?

Don’t wait up for Mom, Dad, you know she won’t be home soon

I’ll put away your whiskey, can I help you to your room?

With birth control glasses and a crew cut hide

Dad got no respect no matter how he tried

He used to say, I hate it, this not feeling whole

An incomplete body makes a tight fit for my soul

Hey Dad, where you going tonight? 

Down to the bar again and ready for a fight?

Why is it the same opponents that you always choose? 

With one arm behind your back, Dad, you know you always lose

Listen, son, I’m praying that you grow up fast

I find that I can’t help it to keep dwelling on the past

You know, son, there’s lots of jobs that only use one hand

But one-armed paper hangers, Dad, just aren’t in much demand

Hey, son, where you going tonight? 

Starting guard in basketball, I’ll bet that’s a sight

How would you know, Dad, did you ever see me play? 

You’re the only Dad I know who hangs around all day

Here you are on the cusp of being grown

Having made it through this field of weeds that were sown

Mom worked at night so you’d attend parochial school 

But you couldn’t stand the structure

Couldn’t stand that golden rule

Now you’re off to college to learn a higher plane

Instead you hear of all those the things

You’ve heard before again

The pain and loveless hunger that you’ve felt so far in life

It seems that you could kill it if you only had a knife

Get out, get off it, let it go

That is what you’ve always heard them say

Living perfect lives isn’t logical

It’s all those martyrs in the way

Hey there, roomie, how come still you’re sitting here? 

Put down that history book and let’s go grab a beer

You’re spending too much time on this ROTC stuff and all

Forget the Corps and killing, let’s go play some basketball

I know you think your old man is a hero in his way

But you’re here in the dark and the sun is out today

In doing only what you’re told you’ll end up less than whole

If you live your parents’ dreams you’ll never have control

Get out, get off it, let it go,

There’s no place for sanity to stay

Logic doesn’t always follow conscience

Don’t let those martyrs in the way

He taught you his beliefs, but you learned attitude

He taught you respect, but you learned to be rude

You’re such a contradiction there is nothing to discern

So now that you’re in college, tell me

What else have you learned?

They taught you to think, you take the easy way out

They taught you to reason, but you learned to doubt

You seem to be eroding just like sand through a sieve

You need to get another life besides this one you live

Get out, get off it, let it go

Stop dwelling on the dark side of day

Conscience never gives you total freedom

Don’t be the martyr in your way… martyr in the way…

I’m finished with the finals, this phase of life is done

A Bachelor’s in Accounting is the degree I’ve won

My scholarship has shown me how to live beyond my means

And now, four years’ commitment to purchase guns and beans

School seemed forever but it wasn’t very long

And now any innocence I ever had is gone

Jonesy, he got Kansas, and Mike got Germany

And Sid is going back to school to get his next degree

And at the bottom of the list, I find my name in red

I am going off to war… hell, I’m as good as dead

Hello, my boy, at ease, come in here

I see you’re new and fitting in takes time

Don’t worry, that’s why Im here to help you

This lesson and advice won’t cost a dime

Find yourself a mentor and shadow their career

That’s the way to be in front instead of in the rear

Be sure you’re filling all the squares, don’t let up the pace

All boxes must be check marked, or you’re out of the race

Don’t date the General’s daughter

She will make you pay if she can

Besides, you’ll get no chance to be alone with her

She’s always there with her ol’ man

In the field don’t trust the crusty Sergeant

Behind that desk beware the surly Chief

Non-commissioned officers bear watching

Well, at least that’s my belief

Remember, boy, to proudly wear that uniform

Even when those dumb civilians stare

We’re fighting in a war that isn’t popular

But you’re a soldier, you’re not supposed to care

Don’t you date the General’a daughter

You don’t deserve that bimbo beauty queen

'Cause if the General ever catches you

You’ll finish out your tour as “Chief, Latrine”

Come on over here now, I’ll show you to your desk

See, there’s your inbox, just try and keep it clean

Now grab your pen, those heroes need their payments

And you’re just another cog in the machine

So don’t date the General’s daughter

Just ask yourself why you’re the one she’d choose

It wouldn’t do to be caught in formation

Those long blond hairs would show up on your blues

Any questions? You’re dismissed

I have been all I can be, the hair’s back on my head

Time off for good behavior, that’s what the General said

I got myself a real job, I’m now a business man

I’ll make tons of money, just ask me if I can

To get ahead you leave some things behind you

Seems everyone is more or less the same

I’m finding out it’s different in the real world

I hope that I’m prepared for the game

The wedding bells are over, the honeymoon’s begun

It’s such a strange feeling to be two and now one

We walk across the threshold, she takes me by the hand

She wants to do it one more time, don’t ask me if I can

I’m burning up both ends of the candle

I try to keep from setting off the flash

I’m like a pilot running low on fuel

Will I safely land before I crash?

Here’s this little boy she has given me

God, I’m going to raise him right now, you just wait and see

Cub Scouts and little league, he’ll do with his old man

Help me with this square knot, Dad, don’t ask me if I can

But it seems the job is never-ending

I always seem to get home late at night

I make the bucks to pay for camps and lessons

Please tell me what’s important, what is right

And time keeps on flying, and things are left undone

It isn’t easy changing because I’m not the only one

My son is sometimes moody, he likes to be alone

He dreams of cars for hours and wants one of his own

He doesn’t have a steady, he doesn’t have a plan

He surfs the night on Internet, don’t ask me if I can

I watch my son as he grows through childhood

And sometimes I see glimpses of my own

But he thinks good things in life are given

Just like a dog who’s waiting for his bone

And time keeps on flying and soon he’ll leave the nest

Just look at all I paid for, don’t look at all the rest

I measure my success through possessions and wealth

I heard this isn’t necessarily good for my health

But I’m a VP now with a corner office view

Sell your soul for money and you can have one, too

I know my time at home with you is minimal at best

But I’m a Type A kinda guy, there’s no time for rest

You think I jest?

To get ahead in business your actions must be bold

You tailor all the strategies to fill the markets polled

Attack at every chance and leave your competition cold

Can everything that’s happening be real or just fool’s gold?

Buy it when you see it, there’s no need for thrift

Now I find I’m cast upon this sea of debt adrift

It won’t be long until I’m shipwrecked several miles from shore

Bankruptcy’s like drowning ‘cause it evens up the score

You seemed to like the money as long as you believed

I don’t understand why you feel suddenly deceived

You want to leave?

The suckers born each minute of the day don’t fit the mold

You hang out ever farther to reach that ring of gold

And you become the lost sheep separated from the fold

The baubles you went after turned out to be just fool’s gold

bring it…

Now I find I’m caught up within this metaphor

The echoed sounds still ringing from the slamming of the door

We planned to grow together old in retirement

But the best part of life has already been spent

So you took Junior and went back to your dad

The good life must’ve numbed you

So you’re back to what you had; 

Was it so bad?

The ex-wife and the neighbors say, now see so you we told

You’re way beyond the limit of what the banks have rolled

Now you’re living hand to mouth to feed that soul you sold

And all you have to show for all of this is

Just fool’s gold… fool’s gold

(Instrumental)

It hurts to see my life dead-ended

I’m just a hole, no water’s in the well

I didn’t see that I was selfish

I stand here guilty, just an empty shell

Where should I go? How will I know?

There is no path from here to lead

Is there some point in looking back?

Is it too late to plant a seed?

I cannot dwell on how it happened

What’s done is done, and now I’m standing here

I have to face my own transgressions

And now I’m waiting for the ghosts to reappear

Don’t be concerned, don’t shed a tear

It wouldn’t change things anyway

So, all I ask is say a prayer

My soul comes back to me some day

I sit here on this porch in cataracted light

Seeing how I got here with clear and hinded sight

How was the same path chosen, it seemed like destiny

I see what I’ve become, I’ve lost the best of me

We don’t seek the changes, we just follow blindly on

We have paved these cowpaths, but where is it we have gone?

Why does the need exist to repeat history?

To follow in one’s footsteps removes all mystery

I’ve lived my father’s shadow, that is plain to see

And my son’s done the same but with efficiency

I don’t need your opinion, I know how you react

But it’s time for me to face this cold hard fact

I went to the gravesite in the town today

I looked at all the names there and thought I heard them say

Get a grip, boy, it’s not too late to heal

Life will still have meaning once you learn to feel

I wish I could start over ‘though the journey’s been so long

I suppose I should fix things now that I know what went wrong