That House Was A Shell

He went to the army
To fly overseas
Though he lied to get in
Yeah, just seventeen
When he drifted from Brooklyn
To be something other
Than what he was being

He came home and married
Bought a house on a lake
Where he never went hungry
But one day was killed by a loneliness
Greater than the mightiest
Empire State

And my mother cried
Though her mother cried harder
They waited in Hell
Two songs and a daughter
And a woman who stayed
Though she knew
That house was a shell.

Now I live in Boston
My head's filled with fear
It's quiet like the snow
In New England this year
There's no telling how long it'll be
Before it all ends

How long will this thing
Still shake in my hands?
How long will I walk
Like I've got the bends?
I came up too quick
Now there's nowhere to go
But down again.

So how do you die
When you know there's a reason in staying alive?

I don't wanna die
But I don't know the reason in staying alive