So Long, Astoria

Meet me at midnight at the broadcast tower high above the Hollywood sign.

You bring your guitar and I'll bring my radio, radio.
Everyone will come from miles around to witness this beautiful sight,
we'll set bonfires, pretend it's the Fourth of July.

This is the starting of a brand new revolution, bite the hand that feeds.
Stand up and fight against the messages that they're sending...
stop their frequency.

You're always talking, it's never ending.
It's about time that we turned off the radio,
call the request lines and tell them it's over.
You're always playing all of the same songs over and over again.
It's about time that we all turned off the radio.

We'll listen to b-sides and sing-along to anthems of the years gone by.
integrity and honesty will prevail tonight.
When it's all over, one question still remains...
Why do so many bands never make it to the radio?

Look outside your F.M. dial, they're preaching lie in 4/4 time.
a generation without a voice and stripped of pride.

Our last day of summer, 1979.

Gotta live it up one time before it's over.
We will make history tonight.

Out at the drive-in
all of our closest friends will be sneaking in.
You'll be spending your whole night
trying everything you can to get that girl to notice you.

"We are the Champions" playing loud on the radio station.
Everyone sing with these anthems of our generation.
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway,
put the top down, crawl into the backseat.
Let's create anthems of our own tonight.

Down at the roller rink
all the cool kids crowding around the air-hockey table.
"Hey, my best friend likes you!"
I hear you shout at me as you go skating by.

"We are the Champions" playing loud on the radio station.
Everyone sing with these anthems of our generation.
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway,
put the top down, crawl into the backseat.
Let's create anthems of our own tonight.

Sneak out of your window darling.
Let's live like outlaws honey.
We'll never look back.

Climb out on this rooftop.
And stare at the city lights below us.
This world belongs to us tonight.
The kids will keep raging on and they ain't ever gonna stop.

"We are the Champions" playing loud on the radio station.
Everyone sing with these anthems of our generation.
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway,
put the top down, crawl into the backseat.
Let's create anthems of our own tonight.

"We are the Champions" playing loud on the radio station.
Everyone sing with these anthems of our generation.
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway,
pu the top down, crawl into the backseat.
Let's create anthems of our own tonight.

It was the first snow of the season
i can almost see you breathin
in the middle of that empty street

Sometimes i still see myself
in that lonesome bedroom
playin my guitar
and singing songs of hope
for a better future

life is....only....
as good as the memories we make
and i'm taking back what belongs to me

polaroids of classrooms unattended
these relics of remembrence
are just like shipwrecks
only theyre gone faster
than the smell after it rains

last night while everyone was sleepin
i tripped through my old neighborhood
and resurrected memories from ashes

we said that we would never fit in
but we were really just like them
does rebellion ever make a difference

life is
only
as good as the memories we make
and im taking back what belongs to me
polaroids of classrooms unattended
these relics of remembrence
are just like shipwrecks
only theyre gone faster
than the smell after it rains

So long astoria
i found a map to buried treasure
and even if we come home empty handed
well still have our stories
of battle scars, pirate ships and wounded hearts,
broken bones, and all the best of friendships

and when this hourglass
has filtered out
its final grain of sand
i raise my glass to the memories we had
this is my wish
this is my wish
im takin back
im takin them all back

On this coldest of January nights
We drive out past the runway and watch the planes go flying by
The runway lights are the deepest blue like the colors of your eyes
So close them tight and kiss me one last time

If you could go anywhere right now
Where would you go?
And would you miss me when you get there?
No place that I would rather be
Please don't let me go falling from the sky
The "fasten seatbelt" sign just needs to go out
If only you could be right here by my side
Home wouldn't seem so far from here

Passport, customs, carry on, remember
To shut off all of your electronic devices
Fell asleep on Tuesday woke up Monday afternoon
I slept right through your International Date Line

If you could go anywhere right now
Where would you go?
And would you miss me when you get there?
No place that I would rather be
Please don't let me go falling from the sky
The "fasten seatbelt" sign just needs to go out
If only you could be right here by my side
Home wouldn't seem so far from here

Please don't let me go falling from the sky
The "fasten seatbelt" sign just needs to go out
If only you could be right here by my side
Home wouldn't seem so far from here

If i died tomorrow
would this song live on forever?
and here is my

unopened letter to a world
that never shall reply

if i died tomorrow
would this song live on forever?
and here is my

unopened letter to a world
that never shall reply

never shall reply
from this second story window
i can hear the church bells calling out my name
this table is set for one
even angels would be homesick
in this forsaken town

on random notes of parchment
i'm scrawling my existence
dressed in white

this candle radiates throughout the night
and it's never burning out

never burning out

from this second story window
i can hear the children down on main street
they're singing their songs tonight

in the shadows i will listen to their every movement

Mr. Higginson am i not good enough for the world?

am i destined only to die
the same way that i lived,
its seclusion?

but high up on this mountain
i can almost see your lonely window sill

they'll carry you off tonight

there's a ghost in your old bedroom
and a candle burning bright

if i die tomorrow
will this song live on forever?

As I leave here today, apartment 108

I'll always keep you in my heart
Anderson is cold tonight
The leaves are scattered on the ground
I miss the seasons
And the comfort of your smile

Sometimes this all feels like a dream
I'm waiting for someone to just wake me up
From this life

As I look out at these fairgrounds
I remember how our family split apart
I don't think I ever told you
But I know you always did your best
And the hard times
They only made us stronger

As I sit here all alone,
I wonder how I'm suppose to carry on when you're gone
I'll never be the same without you
I love you more then you will ever know
So maybe now you finally know
Sometimes we're helpless and alone
But you can let it keep you weighted down
You must go on

Do you ever feel like crying?
Do you ever feel like giving up?
I raise my hands up towards the sky
I say this prayer for you tonight
Because nothing is impossible

As I sit here all alone,
I wonder how I'm suppose to carry on when you're gone
I'll never be the same without you
I love you more then you will ever know
So maybe now you finally know
Sometimes we're helpless and alone
But you can let it keep you weighted down
You must go on

(The hardest part isn't finding who we need to be, it's being content with who you are)

Stay who you are
You must go on
Stay who you are
Stay who you are
Stay who you are
Stay who you are

Only two more days until your birthday,
Yesterday was mine.
You'll be turning five.
I know what it's like
Growing up without your father in your life.

So I pretend I'm doing all I can
And hope someday you'll find it in your heart
To understand why I'm not around
And forgive me for not being in your life.

I remember waiting for you to come.
Remember waiting for you to call.
Remember waiting there to find nothing at all.

Maybe someday you'll really get to know me
Not just from letters read to you.
I pray I get the chance to make it up to you.
We've got a lot of catching up to do.