Song Description

A song about being frustrated seeing the great lives of those on TV but in real life it's just not as good.

Lyrics

Well, the guy next to me's got an elbow stretched out his car window
& he's grabbing the wiper & smashing it down, trying to break up freezing snow.
& he squints his eyes 'till they're cigarette holes
As empty as that wallet chained to his clothes,
While we wait for a red light that takes so long it's an insult to the word "slow".

But TV's always got a big car chase
& commercials keep lying to my face;
They say now's the time for a new Lincoln;
They say it's better days _____ I don't know what they're drinking.

'Cause she's always on the verge of tears,
& I'm measuring the cost in years.
How come our lives ain't like in those
Scenes on TV?
When will America be more
Than one more place with rent I can't afford?
How come our lives ain't like it's as
Seen on TV?

May contain, this may contain spoilers.
May contain, this may contain spoilers.

Well, the graveyard shift kid rubs his gums in the mirror with a painful smile
& a lip curling up like the caterpillar who ate the butterfly.
& the duty nurse tips a bottle of meds,
She just drains it down like it's soda instead
While we stare past the sign for "Reliable Scales - Your Last Chance For Next 30 Miles".

They say we're bouncing back, it's just TV talk.
They say I live the dream, but I just sleepwalk.
They show pretty girls to keep me from thinking.
They say it's better days _____ I don't know what they're drinking.

'Cause she's always on the verge of tears,
& I'm measuring the cost in years.
How come our lives ain't like in those
Scenes on TV?
When will America exist
Beyond a barely-covered grocery list?
How come our lives ain't like it's as
Seen on TV?

& this here is not
The country I thought
That I was born in
Or want for my son.
This here is not
The last mountaintop
I plan to climb or
Intend to die on.
The sun always shines
On the pie in the sky (where)
My scene got cut &
They wrote me out, but
No matter how low
I sink in the hole,
I got a front row
To all I'm missing out on

While I work two jobs. When I'm leaving one,
It's always at night, so I don't see sun.
I'm trying to steer between real long blinks.
They say it's better days _____ wish I had what they're drinking.

'Cause she's always on the verge of tears,
& I'm measuring the cost in years,
& all we've got to show for it's
Dreams from TV.
When will America be more
Than one more place with rent I can't afford?
How come our lives ain't like it's as
Seen on TV?

May contain, this may contain spoilers.
May contain, this may contain spoilers.