Two Dollar Novels

Well, I turned right on first, left on white oak

Back to my old neighborhood

I saw old Doc Randolph

He was mowing his yard

He's kept it up the best he could



And Evelyn his wife of thirty-two years

She smiled as I drove by

And she waved from her front porch screen

And she went back to reading her two dollar novel

And playing with her wedding ring



A few houses needed painting

A few gates were unhinged

But generally the place looked the same

The driveways were full of bikes and Buick sedans

Things any good American would claim



And all them other lovers

That married for cover

They were out for the sacred nightly stroll

They were wishing they were characters in two dollar novels

Wishing for their weight in gold



Now Mary Elizabeth

She's my high school sweetheart

She married my best high school friend

He manages the hardware store

She became a nurse

And I became a memory to them



And all my other buddies

They just got lost in outer space

And they ran off and served their country well

They're all fighting in a war of two dollar novels

Where only the toughest live to tell



So I turned right on white oak, left on first

Out of that old neighborhood

I left Doctor and Mrs. Randolph

Sipping iced tea on their sun porch

Wondering if I'd ever come to any good



And on a thousand shady streets

And in a thousand other towns

Now people, Lord, they're doing just the same

They're all living their lives in two dollar novels

And wondering why the the world is so insane



They're all living their lives in two dollar novels

And wondering why there's nothing left to gain