Just A Detour

Those days
Getting high, getting by
Riding around in my brother's car
Driving fast on the wrong side of 16th Street

Scoring here, missing there
Getting ripped off
Taken down
Finding pay dirt

Then racing back to the other side of the Creek
Hitting the Rodman's or the 7-11 before midnight
Hanging out in the park or behind the arcade
Seemed so innocent then even if we were little thugs

A feeling that could never be recaptured again
No matter how many times I tried
A feeling that came once and vanished only to torment my memories
And send me on a never-ending quest

A quest to get back to that first moment when I felt that warm
The first time I didn't give a shit what you thought
The first time I stopped listening to my head telling me I suck
Was it an illusion?

Must have been because another 25 years of searching and it never appeared again
Just a maze with every path leading to a dead end

Some days the search was fun
Most of the time it was a trip to despair
But problem was I got off on despair
Until I couldn't get off anymore

So now I'm here
Hanging on these steps
Marlboro dangling from my lips
As I welcome you in

I did it for you
You can stop searching
It's not out there
Just a detour to find what matters