Darden Smith - Two Dollar Novels lyrics

Well I turned right on first, left on white oak Back to my old neighborhood I saw old Doc Randolph He was mowing his yard He's kept it up the best he could. And Evelyn his wife of thirty-two years She smiled as I drove by And she waved from her front porch screen. And she went back to reading her two dollar novel And playing with her wedding ring. A few houses needed painting A few gates were unhinged But generally the place looked the same. The driveways were full of bikes and Buick sedans Things any good American would claim. And all them other lovers That married for cover They were out for the sacred nightly stroll. They were wishing they were characters in two dollar novels Wishing for their weight in gold. Now Mary Elizabeth She's my high school sweetheart She married my best high school friend. He manages the hardware store She became a nurse, And I became a memory to them. And all my other buddies They just got lost in outer space And they ran off and served their country well. They're all fighting in a war of two dollar novels Where only the toughest live to tell. So I turned right on white oak, left on first Out of that old neighborhood I left Doctor and Mrs. Randolph sipping ice tea on their sun porch Wondering if I'd ever come to any good. And on a thousand shady streets And in a thousand other towns Now people, Lord, they're doing just the same. They're all living their lives in two dollar novels And wondering why the the world is so insane. They're all living their lives in two dollar novels And wondering why there's nothing left to gain.