There's a big white house on a leafy street
On a summer's day of 1963
Station wagons parked in the drive
Dents in the fender and wood on the side
There's kids and dogs and instamatic cubes squinting hard in the sun
Not just yet, but one day too
They'll be chasing what's already gone
You grow up tall and you grow up tough
Trying to never admit not feeling good enough
Until you find your pa**ion and you find your way
Just trying to make it unscathed through every day
And it seems to happen nearly overnight
Life shows you who you've become
And there's no more mystery in the fading light
You're just chasing what's already gone
Like the line that spells the far horizon
Moving with you as fast as you can run
Half your life you pay it no attention
The rest you can't stop wondering
What you should have done
Instead of chasing what's already gone
Saw my father in a dream last night
He was smiling and saying "You're gonna be all right"
And this morning I stared back at myself
Feeling as empty as I've ever felt
But I keep on going and I hope I've learned
More of what's right than what's wrong
It's ashes and roses and time that burns
When you're chasing what's already gone
Ashes and roses and hearts that break
I tried so hard to be strong
But maybe my worries were not my first mistake
I'm chasing what's already gone