Quiet Desperation

Quiet Desperation

Up at the five, out by the six
I beat the rush hour, I know all the tricks
I sleep in the traffic while the rest of you play
Don't you worry about it, my truck knows the way

Now I'm forty-nine and I'm feelin' old
Used to be I'd look down and I could stare at my toes
Now I can't see past the mortgage, I'm actin' my age
Am I worth any more than the shit I am paid
I used to look through my dreams
Now it's the bars of this cage

And the mass of men
Lead their lives
In quiet desperation
Jus' lookin' to hide
Down in the dark
Jus' waitin' to die
Be quiet
Listen, you can hear it
Be quiet
Listen, you can hear it

I used to travel a road made of bricks colored gold
And I could do anything, 'til I put it on hold
Oh, where did that record and that best-seller go?
If the truth was known, it'd never get told

Now, I'm tired like a train pullin' up a steep grade
And the light in the tunnel is beginning to fade
And I drink even more than I ever did
And it's on the way home, 'stead of just now and then
And I don't ask for help and I can't shout it out
I just lay here and drown
In my soul

And the mass of men
Lead their lives
In quiet desperation
Jus' lookin' to hide
Down in the dark
Jus' waitin' to die
Be quiet
Listen, you can hear it
Be quiet
Listen you can hear it

Up at the five, out by the six
I beat the rush hour, I know all the tricks

© D. Dain, 1996.