Song Lyrics

There is a car parked where the block begins
And there are people singing praises
Say, "It's all because of him"
And there is a bird perched on a frayed, wet wire

And his voice sings out for a lover
But it's covered by the choir of voices
Reaching way beyond the rafters
With devotion, they perform these sacred tasks

They cross themselves and offer up their checkbooks
Slight suffering is not too much to ask
Besides, we all are making money
And we are all fucking alone

And we don't know what we are doing
Maybe just buying us some hope
Because we know that we are lonely
Yeah, lonely, that's for sure

And the older ones are coughing
And the older ones are dying
Maybe we are all dying
I pass a graveyard on my way to work

Today I saw two dozen white roses
On a fresh new mound of dirt
And I wondered about the occupant
When the darkness finally swallowed him

Was he calm and content?
Or was he sweating in a struggle to keep breathing
Ripping apart the sheets that dressed his bed
Crying out loud for someone to help him

And collapsing on his back, all pale and dead?
Maybe it's me who's this unstable
Always obsessed about the end
Why can't I let what happens happen?

And just enjoy the time I spend
Oh, how I wish it was so easy
But when there is no point to anything
It can get a bit confusing

Why is that I keep going?
Why is that we keep going?

Oberst

The duration of On My Way to Work is 4:10 minutes and seconds.