Lyrics
Perfection Settles Down
By Ian G. Clifton
July 2nd, 2002
I could do anything.
That's what they always said.
I had no limits.
That's what I was fed.
I could be the president,
An astronaut, a scientist so keen.
I could be what I wanted,
A miracle-making machine.
"You'll change the world.
You'll make it great.
You'll do something wonderful,
Like take away our hate."
They told me I was smart,
So far above my peer.
The good in my soul,
Spread to everyone near.
But I was a child,
And perhaps still am.
Those big ideas bottled up,
Held back by a dam.
Things began to change,
And I searched my soul.
I saw something in their plan.
It had a big hole.
I could do this,
And I could do that.
Who asked what I wanted?
Just give my head a pat.
A person as great as me,
Wanting just to fit in.
Was that really so bad?
Was it some great black sin?
Sometimes I wanted the little things,
To raise a wife and a child,
To have my own home,
My dreams were mild.
But pushing they were,
And great I would be.
How could I settle for less,
Than what was destined to me?
So I tell the tale,
Through words so trite.
It's not for the glory,
That I have to fight.
Instead I am expected,
To be so great.
Who cares about my wish,
To find a caring mate?
Take away their hate?
That I couldn't do.
It wasn't inside me.
It was inside you.
I'm quite full,
Of stories told to me.
Sure I could be a king,
Modern day royalty.
But I don't desire,
Things so grand.
I just want my simple life,
To live on this land.