Rhododendrons
On the hottest night of the year
Lying in a patch of rhododendrons
A bottle of whiskey under my arm
Trying to count a sky full of stars
I dream of order, I dream of fleets
Of Napoleon in aquamarine
He said, "Linus, put that blanket down
You've slammed your door too many times"
He said "Linus, put that blanket down
The world won't wait"
Boy, what you gonna do with your life?
When I was your age
I was commanding fleets
When I was your age
I was soaked in victory
And now you can't keep a job
And you can't keep a wife
What a horrible mess
You're gonna make of your life
Watched way too many
American films
To be John Wayne
Brando or James Dean
Waiting so long for your wrists to get thick
Waiting so long for the next great party
So many questions, so little to say
You don't need these weights
Boy, what you gonna do with your life?
So you want to be an artist
Want to be a singer
Want to be remembered
For what you could create
So you want to be a cowboy
Riding to the distance
Never have to listen
Or answer to anyone
So you want to be a boxer
Surviving on your instincts
Relying on your fists
And the quickness of your wit
Are you bigger than these buildings
And the gray around you?
Is your pain more worthy
Than everybody else?
Drunk again in the rhododendrons