Somehow the Wonder of Life Prevails

I had a high school friend, he liked to hunt muskrats and rabbits

And he liked to draw and he liked to listen to Ian Gillan with Black Sabbath

But one night outside a Canton, Ohio pool hall

Something transpired, he stuck a man with a screwdriver, stole his car and he hauled

He did three years in Tico Reformatory

And the rumors of what went on in there were most chilling horror stories

Not long after he was set free

He left his parent's house at 1AM and wrapped his car around a tree

And I was in Pacific Grove, California when I got the call

I talked with his mother and his father and his brothers, I talked to them all

About his love for heavy metal, his love for hunting and how good he could draw

And I laid down next to my girlfriend Deena like a child, I bawled

One thanksgiving when I was pretty young

Me and my dad got into it over something and we fought and he won

And I went running barefoot off into the snow

And I sought refuge at a neighbor's house and later that night I came home

And in the midst of all the agonies and hardness I felt

Somehow the wonder of life always prevails

And in the midst of all the awkwardness, all my growing pains

Somehow the wonder of life always remains

Every day, I get out and I walk

Every day, I get on the phone with someone and I talk

It's good to have friends who love you, care and understand

Who have your back and don't judge you, don't criticize you, or make demands

Every day, for miles I walk

Along the Monterey Pines, the Marina to Aquatic Park

And I look at the Marin Headlands, Tiburon

Sausalito, Angel Island, from the end of fishing pier

And oh my, I couldn't ask for more

My eyes couldn't ever want for more

And oh my, I watch the seagulls fly

For half my life I've watched the ferry boats and the barges go by

It's February, it'll be the 10th year anniversary

Of when I lost a friend to cancer and there's times when I still can't believe it

But I'm so grateful for all the time we got to spend

In Pescadero, Point Reyes, Mendocino, San Rafael and Fairfax

Though I'm reminded of her passing especially when it rains

Somehow the wonder of life always remains

And every Christmas I get pictures of her growing daughter

And her face looks more and more like her mother

Spent this thanksgiving in seat 21E

Of an SAS airplane flying over the Baltic and the north sea

On my way home from Stockholm and Malmo and Gottenburg and Copenhagen

All I could think of in my seat was getting back home to my girlfriend

She'd be away until Saturday or Sunday

Down in Orange county with her family for the holiday

But it's alright, I can't cry, can't complain

Because I'm just about to land in a 737 airplane

Looking down at the city of Martinez and the Carkinas Strait

And that San Francisco pacific ocean and north bay

And at the golden gate and Oakland bay bridges and the many boats that sail

And the wonder of life always prevails