So This Is Life

Nineteen, actin' thirty-three, Livin' out a young girl's dream as planned A brick home, a mimosa tree, a single-car family man She stayed at home 'cause she wanted to, He told her "That's what good mothers do" and she listened So he worked days, he worked nights, He worked so hard to get it right for them So this is life When you get lost in a fairytale When you dream big and you love well When you barely get by Thirty-five, mother of three, Kids at school, daytime TV: it's too quiet While the laundry dries she reads a book, When the kids get home she'll start to cook while they fight He works overtime and he talks all day, When he gets home he don't have nothin' to say and she's dyin' They need different things it's evident, And all they share is what they spent on tryin' So this is life When you give up who you wanna be When you get good at make-believe When you're livin' a lie Now she's forty-nine, Feelin' seventy and hangin' onto a emory with both hands They lost a child ten years ago, One's strung out, one doesn't know who she is He took a lover just last year, He broke a bond and lives in fear of the man he knew he'd become So he worked long days and stayed out Nights tryin' to find the right way to run So this is life When you throw out the game-plan When you can't seem to understand When you wish you could fly Guess this is life When losin' is winnin' When you see a new beginnin' In the form of goodbye