Twenty

[Verse 1]
When you're younger, people tell you
That when you grow up, you'll know more
But the older that I get, the less I understand the world
And I can hardly recognize people that I knew before
It only took me two decades to find out
Who they really are and who they've always been
From the new angle where I stand
I see the sides that make them human

[Verse 2]
The ones you thought immortal
Now are graying, now are frail
The ones you went to for your answers
Are just as lost and as confused
A gale sweeps children off their feet
And tosses them into a sea of overwhelming reality
Those things they didn't wanna see
And here they call that twenty
Like crossroads in the country
The towering door in front of me

[Chorus]
We're twenty, we're twenty
What do people our age do?
Are we all closet philosophers and record junkies too?
We're twenty, we're twenty
Reusin' our old coffee grinds
'Cause we can't afford fresh brew
Though we say we're grown men and women
I think we all just wanna fit in

[Verse 3]
And you have friends that get stupid (very stupid)
And some friends who are firm
You try to step lively on the balance beam
That grazes both their worlds
And you're searching for your definition while abhorring the herd
And you're conscious of the fact
That you probably cost more than you're worth
Still, a Friday night is callin'
And God gave you a paycheck

[Verse 4]
'Til one day, it all hits you
The universe says, “Act your age”
And you're thrown into an intersection that parts fifty ways
Feet mesmerized and terrified to know your life will change
'Cause the second that you pick a route is the second that you'll say
“Did I choose the right one?”
“In hindsight, will I be proud?”
But the only way to know is to travel it

[Chorus]
We're twenty, we're twenty
What do people our age do?
Are we all closet philosophers and record junkies too?
We're twenty, we're twenty
Reusin' our old coffee grinds 'cause we can't afford fresh brew
Though we say we're grown men and women
I think we all just wanna fit in

[Verse 5]
Folks'll ask you about your future
The obstacle you've only feigned
And you're feelin' yourself lying to 'em just to keep 'em entertained
With fingers crossed behind your back
It don't feel good to talk like that
But who really expects a whippersnap'
To take advice from just any old hand?
From just anyone who passes?
We don't take words from the masses

[Verse 6]
'Cause who knows where you'll be
For the next twenty years or more
What tragedies or ruts will come knockin' at your door?
For now, your most important jobs are tryin' to keep a level head
And tryin' to pick up your own shovel and shake a lot of hands
'Cause memories are milestones, even all the bad ones
And twenty is when you make 'em

[Chorus]
Oh we're twenty, we're twenty
What do people our age do?
Are we all closet philosophers and record junkies too?
We're twenty, we're twenty
Reusin' our old coffee grinds 'cause we can't afford fresh brew
Though we say we're grown men and women
I think we all just wanna fit in

We're twenty, we're twenty
What do people our age do?
Are we all closet philosophers and record junkies too?
Do we all reuse our coffee grinds 'cause we can't afford fresh brew?
Can we only stretch as far out as our debts allow us to?
Though we insist that we've got it together
Call ourselves grown men and women
I think we all just wanna fit in