Children running down the street in uniforms laughing in the rain
And heading towards me, they were yelling about something
They were singing in code, something like
Ten dead men on a dead mans chest, fight the war forget about the rest
They were searching for sunlight they were searching for gold

So I, catch a fever from the inside
Dip my hands into my pockets
Open up my wallet
Such a strange gesture to make in this town
"Sure, it ain't gold but it gets me around."

Then I grab a twenty from the inside
Hand it to the smallest, tell him "Spend it wisely."
He looks up at me then back at the ground
I just wish him luck and turn right around

Now I talk to myself late at night
Or I try to connect with the ghost who was a best friend
My brother, my accomplice, another writer, my best man
And sometimes I feel so forgiven at night

I just put down the shades but I open my window
The bad luck just leaves me I hear Ben tell me
"Brother, you're home."

I think it all started in the summer '98
In Normandy New Jersey, later in the day
I was thinking about existence, and unaccepting fate
I was 14 years old, but what else can I say
Even then I knew time was gonna catch me

I graduated private school in the summer of '02
My first true love had left me and I didn't know what to do
A pint glass full of paddy's and pills you shouldn't chew
Well, I swore that the drugs were gonna kill me

I was wrong I was wrong, I was writing a song
I tried to blame myself because she was gone
I didn't know that she was unaffected, her bad luck came through a needle
I knew that the drugs were gonna kill her

Fast forward to the fall of '05
I met the girl of my dreams, and she helped me survive
Then she left my life at complicated times
In march of '06 I attempted suicide
Well, I know that sudafed can't kill me

For everyone who knew, yeah, I apologize
I'm sorry mom and dad, no I never meant to make you cry
Thanks to all my friends you're the reason I'm alive
You make everyday worth living in this ribbon called time
Well, it'll take more than bad luck just to kill me!


Limbs and things and verbs and sounds
I got ten years of words buried in the ground
They're being reassembled by the ghost of Ben Brown
He's adapting the screenplay even still now
And he better cast someone cool like Johnny Depp to play me

The child took my 20 and he looked me in the eyes
He said "Thanks, mister for the gold." and continued walking by
I could see him proudly show his friends it made me want to cry
Cause all I could do was think of mine, I know I'm a lucky guy
And thank you all for everything I miss you all, goodnight