American Dream

They were wed in spring in front of their families
And nine months later she was pregnant
With a strong baby boy and so they raised him
And this is what they call the American dream

And in the back of all of his button-ups
His mother sewed in a name label
And she sewed in his fate just like a name label
And he wore them both heavy as they bit at the back of his neck

Go to school, get a job, find a wife, settle down

And his father taught him all that a man should know
How to pay the bills put the spin on the winning throw
And the boy showed promise and he made his father proud
But moved like the breeze through a field too tired to give in

Go to school, get a job, find a wife, settle down

I can feel the taunting and teasing
Of my paycheck as it holds me ransom
The monsters we feared when we were children
Are nothing compared to the ones that live under my bed

So he studied hard at Cal State University
And married a girl who was fragrant and flowering
And at night while he sleeps the refrains of his raising
Cut the heads off the dreams of the things he thought could have been

Go to school, get a job, find a wife, settle down