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