C   Bb  F    (2x)

[Verse 1]
               C        Dm    F         G
Well I turned right on First, left on White Oak
 F                    C
Back to my old neighborhood
C              Dm
I saw old Doc Randolph
       F           G
He was mowing his yard
F                                   C
He's kept it up ‘’bout the best he could.
 Am
And Evelyn his wife of thirty-two years
       G
She smiled as I drove by
         F                          C
And she waved from her front porch swing.
             C        Dm         F           G
And she went back to readin’ her two dollar novel
       F                      C
And playin’ with her wedding ring.

[Verse 2]
      C              Dm             F             G
A few houses needed paintin’, a few gates were unhinged
      F                             C
But generally the place looked the same.
      C             Dm                F     G
The driveways were full of bikes and Buick sedans
        F                       C
Things any good American would claim.
     Am                         G
And all them other lovers that married for cover
          F                           C
They were out for the sacred nightly stroll.
          C                   Dm            F           G
They were wishing they were characters in a two dollar novel
 F                           C
Wishing for their weight in gold.

[Interlude]
C   Bb  F    (2x)

[Verse 3]
     C      Dm               F             G
Now Mary Elizabeth, she's my high school sweetheart
 F                               C
She married my best high school friend
    C          Dm              F             G
He manages the hardware store, she became a nurse
    F                    C
And I became a memory to them.
    Am                                  G
And all my other buddies they just got lost in outer space
         F                              C
And they ran off to serve their country well.
             C            Dm      F         G
They're all fighting in a war of two dollar novels
        F                        C
Where only the toughest live to tell.

[Verse 4]
            C        Dm            F         G
So I turned right on White Oak and left on First
 F                      C
Out of that old neighborhood
         C             Dm                F              G
I left Doctor and Mrs. Randolph sipping ice tea on the front porch
   F                              C
Wondering if I'd ever come to any good.
           Am                         G
And on a thousand shady streets in a thousand other towns
     F                                    C
Now people, Lord, they're doing just the same.
             C            Dm         F         G
They're all living their lives like two dollar novels
      F                             C
And wondering why the world is so insane.
             C           Dm          F         G
They're all living their lives like two dollar novels
          F                                C
And wondering why there's nothing left to gain.