children running down the street in uniforms laughing in the rain

and heading towards me, they were yelling about something

they were singing in code, something like

ten dead men on a dead mans chest, fight the war forget about the rest

they were searching for sunlight they were searching for gold

so i, catch a fever from the inside

dig my hands into my pockets

open up my wallet

such a strange gesture to make in this town

sure, it ain't gold but it gets me around

then i grab a twenty from the inside

hand it to the smallest, tell him spend it wisely

he looks up at me then back at the ground

i just wish he'll fuckin turn right around

now i talk to myself late at night

but i try to connect with the ghost who was a best friend

my brother, my accomplice, another writer, my best man

and sometimes i feel so forgiven at night

i just put down the shades but i open my window

the bad luck just leaves me, i hear ben tell me

brother, you're home

i think it all started in the summer '98

in normandy new jersey, later in the day

i was thinking about existence, and unaccepting fate

i was 14 years old, but what else can i say

even then i knew time was gunna catch me

i graduated private school in the summer of '02

my first true love had left me and i didn't know what to do

i moved into new york and i thought i found the truth

a pipe, grass, full of patties and pills you shouldn't chew

well, i swore that the drugs were gunna kill me

i was wrong i was wrong, i was ready to fall

i tried to blame myself because she was gone

i didn't know that she was unaffected, but that look gave you a needle

and i knew that the drugs were gunna kill her

fast forward to the fall of '05

I met the girl of my dreams, and she helped me survive

then she left my life in complicated times

in march of '06 i attempted suicide

well, i know that sudafed can't kill me

to everyone i knew, yeah, i apologize

sorry mom and dad i never meant to make you cry

thanks to all my friends you're the reason i'm alive

you make everyday worth living in this river called time

well, it'll take more than bad luck just to kill me

rings and things and birds and sounds

i got ten years of words buried in the ground

theyre being reassembled by the ghost of ben brown

he's adapting the screenplay even still now

he better cast someone cool like johnny depp to play me

the child took my 20 and he looked me in the eyes

he said thanks mister for the gold, continued walking by

i could see him proudly show his friends it made me wanna cry

cause all i could do was think of mine, i know i'm a lucky guy

and thank you all for everything i miss you all, goodnight