Summer Suburbs

Summer suburbs, water gun wars
There was joy in the air 
There was candy in stores
We would bike through the streets
We would climb through the trees
There was nothing to lose
And so much to seize

Fifteen years later, summer arrives
You were fired from your job
I am working till nine
You’re behind on your rent
And my energy’s spent
Let’s watch some TV
Wouldn’t it be nice to be them

Maybe someday I’ll marry the girl of my dreams
We’ll buy a house and raise a family 
Make sure our kids have their summer fun
We never realize just how soon it is gone 

There was a man who said he’d found the key
You must embrace your passions
You must follow your dreams
So he took off a year, 
And he took on his fears,
And he fell to his death,
But some mountains were cleared

And what about the man who worked to the bone?
In pursuit of the career 
That would make him well-known 
He would never give up
But the cancer still struck 
And the chemo still failed
Our time is never enough

Maybe someday I’ll marry the girl of my dreams
We’ll buy a house and raise a family 
Make sure our kids have their summer fun
We never realize just how soon it is gone

So I ask myself what is my worth?
With my head in the sky
And my feet in the dirt
Am I a link in a chain? 
Am I a heart or a brain?
Is it pleasure I seek?
What is the point of this pain?