I've been sitting here for a long time   About an hour south of the Grapevine   Waiting for my ladder to come   I came here for a piece of the action   Waited to the point of distraction   Slowly getting sick from the sun      And I remember waiting in line for   A shot at getting in through the side door   Of cities we could never afford   But now it's just a matter of recall   Slowly getting used to the freefall   And all that we forgot to record      I started walking the streets again   Trying to get a taste of the oxygen   I'm feeling like I'm getting so out of touch   And I don't even get out of town that much      But now it's stop and go on the 405   I wonder if there's anyone left alive   These solitary holiday afternoons   I wish that I could call it but it's too soon   So tell me if you want to go      It's a long way home   To the Santa Monica that you know   And I'm already late to make mine   Got a see-through skin   It shares a border with the state that I'm in   I don't even try to get down   Simple cowardice keeps me in this town      But now we're destined to walk the earth   Telling everybody we got here first   Watching as the bars and the restaurants   Are slowly taken over by debutantes      'Cause Santa Monica's just a boulevard   Something you can put on your credit card   And I don't have the heart to come back for you   I worry 'bout the future but it's too soon   So tell me if you want to go      It's a long way home   To the Santa Monica that you know   And I'm already late to make mine   Got a see-through skin   It shares a border with the state that I'm in   I don't even try to get down   Simple cowardice keeps me in this town      And you wouldn't believe   All the things that you need   Just to carry your head up off the ground   In this town      It's a long way home   To the Santa Monica that you know   And I'm already late to make mine   Got a see-through skin   It shares a border with the state that I'm in   I don't even try to get down   Simple cowardice keeps me in this town