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"California" Lyrics

California


like a terra cotta soldier waiting for the sun,

i'd been in the dark for so long

looking for a war to fight, an enemy to kill,

i'd been looking at this thing oh so wrong


since i was a kid i'd heard your work is what you are

that people trade their time for their worth

the less you care, the more you win in this rat race we're running in,

we've all been on the clock since our birth


the thing that mattered most was what the other people thought of you

that you did what they told you to

their judgment was the way you knew

but these screens sure take a toll on you

ohhhhh my god


(C) well, show me to the door, 'cuz i don't want this any more

and i'm putting down the weight

i'll find a way to find a california in my mind

and let this fall away


one night I fell asleep and dreamed the road would rescue me

and I'd fade into the asphalt like a ghost

I'd drive into the sunset, man, I'd melt into the beams

And coalesce again on the coast


So I left behind the things I'd loved, the places where I grew

All the people who had taught me how to be

And as I hit the road, I sprouted dark wings and I flew,

I learned just what it means to be free


I traveled high, I traveled low, on foot, by bike, by car, by plane

till late one night near Coeur D'Alene

a deep-down existential pain

I wondered, laying in the rain

If I'd ever see my home again

ohhhhhh my god


(C) well, get me off the road, 'cuz I've been so alone

I want another way

i'll find a way to find a california in my mind

i place where I can stay


rollin'...


once upon a time, I thought I'd found the girl for me

and we'd orbit 'round each other for all time

but time and time and time again I tried my best to be

the line completing someone else's rhyme


i thought i knew what love was like a rock knows how to fly

and like a stone i never spent time crying

i realize now the truth is that you shouldn't have to try

to sell yourself to someone who ain’t buying


but love has always come to me a little bit too easily

as you'll no doubt begin to see

if you listen to my discography

or consider my geography

a map of my catastrophes

if you love 'em, then you set 'em free

but escaping always escaped me

ohhhhh my god


(C) well, kick me out your door, I don't need you any more

I want someone who cares

i'll find a way to find a california in my mind

a love that I can share


rollin'...

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