Struck A Nerve

Bad Religion · Tested [1997]

there's an old man on a city bus

holding a candy cane

and it isn't even christmas

he sees a note in the obituary

that his last friend has died

there's an infant clinging

to his overweight mother in the cold

as they go to shop for cigarettes

and she spends her last dollar

on a bottle of vodka for tonight



and i guess it struck a nerve

like i had to squint my eyes

you can never get out

of the line of sight

like a barren winter day

or a patch of unburned green

like a tragic real dream

i guess it struck a nerve



every day i wander

in negative disposition

as i'm bombarded by superlatives

realizing very well that i am not alone

introverted

i look to tomorrow for salvation

but i'm thinking altruistcally

and a wave of overwhelming doubt

turns me to stone



and i guess it struck a nerve

sent a murmur through my heart

we just haven't got time

to crack the maze

like a magic speeding clock

or a cancer in our cells

a collision in the dark

i guess it struck a nerve



i try to close my eyes

but i can not ignore the stimuli

if there's a purpose for us all

it remains a secret to me

don't ask me to justify my life



cuz i guess it struck a nerve

like i had to squint my eyes

you can never get out

of the line of sight

like a magic speeding clock

or a cancer in our cells

a collision in the dark

i guess it struck a nerve