Two Dollar Novels Lyrics - Singles - Darden Smith

Well, I turned right on first, left on white oak 

Back to my old neighborhood 

I saw old Doc Randolph 

He was mowing his yard 

He's kept it up the best he could 

And Evelyn his wife of thirty-two years 

She smiled as I drove by 

And she waved from her front porch screen 

And she went back to reading her two dollar novel 

And playing with her wedding ring 

A few houses needed painting 

A few gates were unhinged 

But generally the place looked the same 

The driveways were full of bikes and Buick sedans 

Things any good American would claim 

And all them other lovers 

That married for cover 

They were out for the sacred nightly stroll 

They were wishing they were characters in two dollar novels 

Wishing for their weight in gold 

Now Mary Elizabeth 

She's my high school sweetheart 

She married my best high school friend 

He manages the hardware store 

She became a nurse 

And I became a memory to them 

And all my other buddies 

They just got lost in outer space 

And they ran off and served their country well 

They're all fighting in a war of two dollar novels 

Where only the toughest live to tell 

So I turned right on white oak, left on first 

Out of that old neighborhood 

I left Doctor and Mrs. Randolph 

Sipping iced tea on their sun porch 

Wondering if I'd ever come to any good 

And on a thousand shady streets 

And in a thousand other towns 

Now people, Lord, they're doing just the same 

They're all living their lives in two dollar novels 

And wondering why the the world is so insane 

They're all living their lives in two dollar novels 

And wondering why there's nothing left to gain