I step outside at 2am, see the city sleeping tight

Could be this job, but I don't know if I'll make it home tonight

It's not like there'll be somebody waiting there for me

'Cause I am not the hero everybody says I'll be

But I'm a long way from leaving this town

This city of angels

I'm a long, long way from caving in

But living and dying like brothers in arms

For swallowing sin at the sound of alarm

I wonder why

Can't somebody rescue me?

I tear myself between my job, my family, and my ghosts

But I've got bigger problems than who needs me the most

Can't they see I'm just a man, I can't turn the world around

Hell, I can barely keep my own two feet firmly on the ground

Anybody, anybody,

Won't somebody rescue me?

I'm a long way from leaving this town

This city of angels

I'm a long, long way from caving in

But living and dying like brothers in arms

For swallowing sin at the sound of alarm

I wonder why

Can't somebody rescue me?

Every picture of a child can be heard

If you listen close enough, you hear that picture's thousand words

And it's almost like a train that's been derailed

When the picture says the innocence defending them has failed

It's all too real and the look upon their face,

It will make you wish you could be their saving grace

And reach into the photograph long enough to dry

The water rising in their troubled eyes

Standing in the remnants of a town

Where a camera and a child finally stare each other down

The camera stalls a moment of their youth

That's bludgeoned by confusion and harnessed by the truth

It's all too real and the look upon their face,

It will make you wish you could be their saving grace

And reach into the photograph long enough to dry

The water rising in their troubled eyes

It's all too real and the look upon their face,

It will make you wish you could be their saving grace

And reach into the photograph long enough to dry

The water rising in their troubled eyes

If heaven only knew the way I feel tonight

Would it matter who was burning out my light

If heaven only knew why I need to cry

Would it pull me through or watch and wonder why?

If heaven only knew

If heaven only knew

Someone up there would feel the pain I'm feeling, too

If heaven only knew

If heaven only knew what many friends have said

Would it still be absurd for me to wonder why they're dead

If heaven only knew the anger in my voice

Could it be deterred, would I have a choice?

If heaven only heard

If heaven only heard

Someone up there would hear the pain in every word

If heaven only heard

If heaven only knew the way I feel tonight

What would heaven do, and would I be all right?

If heaven only knew

If heaven only knew

What if it was you?

If heaven only knew

It's a rainy day, it's another rainy day in paradise

It's a road that leads to your house but it's covered in ice

It's a year that you can't even see 'cause you're caught in a vice

On a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise

The coffee is cold at that little lonely table at your favorite cafe

Where you sit, you sit with your tired old book and your dirty ashtray

As you wait, you wait for another lonely fool to walk your way

It's a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise

You sit all alone and think to yourself about life

And you wonder how you'll ever make ends meet in your lonely life

And while on a treadmill, you wonder if another man's life

Might be a blessing alone in paradise

It's a time, it's a time to realize where you are today

And you're right, you got tired of school, so you went your own way

But it's hard, it's hard to be a poet who's got nothing to say

On a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise

You're walking down streets where everyone used to be seen

Now they're dark, they're dark and eroded, but they used to be clean

And the girls, they won't even make you a deal for your green

On a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise

You sit all alone and think to yourself about life

And you wonder how you'll ever make ends meet in your lonely life

And while on a treadmill, you wonder if another man's life

Might be a blessing alone in paradise

I wake up with lazy eyes almost every day

I never greet the sunrise with much to say

My coffee's black, my hands are cold, the morning gets in my way

If I can count on you to stay

This must be love

This must be love

I have more luck than I've got money, honey, and that's not saying much

But I get by all right, I've got my crutch

I call it faith and blind ambition, dreams that I'm seeing through

Some are fading to memory, but not you

This must be love

This must be love

I wake up with lazy eyes and you look my way

Your eyes tell me everything you don't need to say

This must be love

This must be love

I'll wear your favorite cologne and buy you a dozen roses

I'll call you up on the phone as the twilight fades and closes

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman tonight

I'll bring my favorite guitar and play your song about the ocean

I'll take you just as you are then play the night back in slow motion

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman tonight

I'll take you back to the night we walked in Memphis and drank wine

How we dimmed the lights then kissed and crossed that line

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman tonight

I'll wear your favorite cologne and buy you a dozen roses

I'll call you up on the phone as the twilight fades and closes again

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman

I'm gonna be your Superman tonight

A bottle of pills, a bottle of white

Oh lord, it must be Tuesday night

You take the stage and you make a stand

With a fat guitar and a faithful band

And you talk about life in a strange way

You talk about love without much to say

You live your life like a winning hand that you can't help but lose

But baby, you sure can sing the blues

At a topless bar and a motel tonight

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, baby, that's all right

'Cause you gotta make due, gotta make the rent

Gotta make those songs sound Heaven-sent

So you talk about life in a strange way

You talk about love without much to say

You live your life like a winning hand that you can't help but lose

But baby, you sure can sing the blues

Hey, that two-dollar bill might buy you a bar maid's kiss

In a greasy diner, it's hit or miss

Your momma never liked this life you choose

Then again, she never had your handle on the blues

Talk about life in a strange way

Talk about love without much to say

You live your life like a winning hand that you can't help but lose

But baby, you sure can sing the blues

I tell you it's hard playing empty bars on a Wednesday night

I've got a crowd of maybe ten, and I'll be lucky if one of them hears me right

I'll take what I can get, but there's gotta be more

I never knew paying dues could be this hard

I'd like to travel the country and be able to say,

"Hey babe, I'll send you a postcard."

I want to stun the world with my acoustic guitar

I want it to pay all my bills

And I've heard it more than once, boy, if that is your dream,

Then why the Hell aren't you in Nashville?

I've never been there, but I hear it's a place to remember

My heart's saying, "Leave," and my body's just about to surrender

'Cause I just don't know how much is left in this town

And I've had about all I can take

While it's a town of best friends and all the history I have,

It's also a town of mistakes

I'm just tired of a life that keeps dragging me down

When I learn how to change it I will

I'd like to find the smile I haven't had in a while

Maybe it's hiding in Nashville

I'm finished again after playing for ten

At an empty bar Wednesday night

And I'd like to have died when they left me inside

Not a single one heard me right

Sometimes a pack of cigarettes is all I get for company

But then I'll turn and I'll wink at an occasional drink to accompany me

I'm ready to fly like a bat out of Hell

Just put me on a train and I'll ride

I'll leave all my bags with my maps at the station

And let the train be my guide

I've had no prescription to make it all easy

I'm here today clean of one still

But the pills of white mercury just might be good for me

If I don't make it to Nashville

I don't know your name

I don't remember you

Or this chill that stings my spine,

But looking in your starry eyes,

I remember sunshine

I don't know your face

But it looks familiar

Like I've seen it in a magazine

It could be that I just fantasize

About beauty I've never seen

I know I'm not in love with you

But I'm afraid that I could be

'Cause I can't help but look at you

You look like sunshine to me

But I don't know your name

I don't remember you

Or this chill that stings my spine,

But looking in your starry eyes,

I remember sunshine

I remember sunshine

When you wake up in the morning and step into the sun

Or lay down in the evening long after your day's done

When you settle into slumber and your dreams have all begun

Think of me, and somehow I'll be there

When you wade into a river and the water feels too cold

Or your sitting on the bank to smoke that cigarette you rolled

When you stare at your reflection, looking young but feeling old

Think of me, and somehow I'll be there

If you listen close, you can hear me

You'll hear me like a lone cathedral bell,

And I may stick around another lifetime,

But only if your memory serves you well

When you take a midday walk through a shady side of town

Or you sit outside a coffee shop like a somber, caffeine clown

When your thoughts are running wild, but your body's slowing down,

Think of me, and somehow I'll be there

When you wonder why your arms can't reach up and touch the sky

Or why you have to walk when birds can walk and fly

And when no one standing by you can ever tell you why

Think of me, and somehow I'll be there

If you listen close, you can hear me

You'll hear me like a lone cathedral bell,

And I may stick around another lifetime,

But only if your memory serves you well

If you listen close, you can hear me

You'll hear me like a lone cathedral bell,

And I may stick around another lifetime,

But only if your memory serves you well

A storm was near, the ocean roared,

And as I feared, I went overboard

The rain was hard, the water rolled,

My heart was numb, my body cold

And then I saw a distant sight

There she stood, a sailor's light

That lighthouse lamp was shining bright

And I swam to her through the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean

I swam for hours to reach her shore

Through lightning showers and weather wars

I beat the night and it's typhoon,

And I reached the light by the morning moon

And as I crawled upon her land,

A grounded angel met me on the sand

And all she said was, "Take my hand,"

And my heart beat for her like the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean

She took my hand with compassion's glove

She took me in, a wounded dove

I feel asleep and I fell in love

And my heart beat for her like the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean

Another night, another storm,

This time the light kept me warm

I laid beside her precious flame

While the storm outside called my name

I held her close, she held me tight

Our silhouettes embraced the night

And there below that sailor's light

I made love to her like the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean

I never thought I'd find you here

Didn't think I'd find much this year

But here you are, my shooting star,

My every wish and every dream come true

I'd say you were the rainbow's end

For all I know, you make them bend

Across the sky, and that is why

You make me smile doing what you do

Rainbow girl, you're as good as gold

Always a survivor, always beautiful and bold

Rainbow girl, need I say more than,

"You just say the word, and I'm yours."

Your colors run like northern lights

But wider spread and twice as bright

Oh look at you against the blue

Of a jealous sky that stays two steps behind

I'll be here when you arrive,

My heart will sail, my courage dive

Like wind and rain, like hope and pain

You're everything that makes me feel alive

Rainbow girl, you're as good as gold

Always a survivor, always beautiful and bold

Rainbow girl, need I say more than,

"You just say the word, and I'm yours."

I fell in love for the first time at the tender-hearted age of seventeen

And I felt like the king of California when I found my queen

She had legs like you only see in movies, and her eyes were a sweet Pacific-blue

And as I never second guess a first impression, I saw her and I knew

That I'd want to be somebody she'd remember

Someone she'd never forget

But that place in her heart had been sold

To her daddy's corvette

I couldn't feel like a man until I told her, and I couldn't tell her 'til I felt like a man

It's funny though, at seventeen you don't make sense of life, you just do the best you can

I kept my best in a beat up El Dorado, it had a back seat I could almost call divine

'Til I pulled up to pick her up and she said, "Nice wheels. Park it, let's take mine."

That made me want to be somebody she'd remember

Someone she'd never forget

But that place in her heart had been sold

To her daddy's corvette

Now I've been in love more times than I remember, and I'm a far cry from seventeen

But I still feel like the king of California when I think about my queen

My friends from way back when still get together and drink to everything we left in yesterday

Especially all the girls who broke us in, revved us up, then drove away

I may never be somebody she remembers,

Someone she'll never forget,

But I'm still the only one that got to ride

In her daddy's corvette

Yeah, I'm still the only one that got to ride

In her daddy's corvette

I have heard of angels since I was a little boy

I remember how those stories made me smile

How they flew from Heaven to bring a little joy

To a life that hadn't seen it in a while

And how they understood the human race so good

How they were not just spirits up on high

How they'd walk through crowds then swim back to the clouds

To me they were the mermaids of the sky

Oh, I have never seen an angel, but I hope I do

'Cause I think from what I've heard, they look like you

I've been around the world a couple times or more

And I always wonder where they are

Are they sitting by that window, are they walking through that door?

Do they hang out in coffee shops and bars?

Have I ever walked or have I ever talked

To an angel who was in a great disguise?

If I have, then who? I keep thinking that it's you

'Cause I get that feeling looking in your eyes

Oh, I have never seen an angel, but I hope I do

'Cause I think from what I've heard, they look like you

Oh, I have never seen an angel, but I hope I do

'Cause I think from what I've heard, they look like you

What a day it's gonna be when those mothers tell their children why

Why daddy's never coming home to them, 'cause he had to die

What a day it's gonna be when the nation sees those children cry

For the spirts of their fathers who were heroes in America's sky

What a day it's gonna be when they're old enough to understand

That day back in September and what happened to their old man

What a day it's gonna be when those kids hold their heads up high

And say, "My daddy is a hero, and his spirit's in America's sky

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

What a day it was when that devil was denied

By the hands of the men who pulled him from America's sky

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

What a day it's gonna be when those kids teach the golden rule

They'll have a better explanation than the one that's always taught in school

What a day it's gonna be when they say, "My daddy had to die,

But he did unto others as they did to him in America's sky."

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

What a day it was when that devil was denied

By the hands of the men who pulled him from America's sky

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

Oh, what a day it's gonna be

If ever a day was called the one to remember,

This one's on top of that hill

'Cause I'll look back upon today

And remember what it's like when time stands still

I swear that I see Father Time

Smiling at what he sees

And as he looks our way, he says,

"Keep smiling, today's on me."

And so it goes, we set the stage

For tomorrow and how it will arrive

It may not wait on you or I

But it will remember, and with envy, watch our lives

I swear that I see Father Time

Smiling at what he sees

And as he looks our way, he says,

"Keep smiling, today's on me."

I swear that I see Father Time

Smiling at what he sees

And as he looks our way, he says,

"Keep smiling, today's on me."