Nomeansno – The World Wasn't Built In A Day lyrics

As I was driving around aimlessly, a waking dream occurred to me
That everyone I knew had died that day
That my friends, co-workers and loved ones, had all just suddenly passed away
Well, there were drunken car crashes, airline disasters, and suicides that were unexplained
And as I drove past familiar scenes, streets and buildings that were a hundred times seen
As a wave of contentment washed over me, I wondered what this could possibly mean
As the sun spilled it's warmth over the houses and trees
I felt that I was finally free

But you know what they say
The world wasn't built in a day
You know what they say
The world wasn't built in a day (no way)

I picked up a woman in the parking lot of the local Safeway
Well, I had seen her face a hundred times but I never knew her name
And as I drove her home she laughed and she sighed and the strain of the moment passed away
I explained how my father had died, how I had seen his body and never cried
She let her hand fall on my leg and there she let it stray
When I dropped her off she asked me up, I politely said I couldn't stay
And as she walked to the door, as those bags of groceries gently swayed
I turned the wheel and muttered to myself, "No way, man, no way"

[Chorus:]

Sunset over the mountains and on the harbour that beneath them lay
In long shadows the traffic lights gleamed, red and green, they traced the way
Through a corridor of sidewalks, where people wandered at the end of their day
I drove to my space on the waterfront, picked up my guitar and started to play
Alone I sang for the people that I knew, for my friends and family, and for them I prayed
That no storm would come and sweep them up, that no winds would bear them away
I sang, "Your voice from my throat cries, your heart beats in my chest,
From my head stare your eyes, for you I live and die!
This loneliness is a lie! This loneliness is a lie! "

[Chorus:]

The streets were empty as I drove home, the air was cool and the sky was dark
Streetlamps cast their mockery of light over ghostly shapes in an empty night
Should I believe in the things I see? Am I in you? Are you in me?
What should I believe? Tell me. What should I believe?
At home, on the porch, the wind in the trees murmured a background for my waking dream
Where I drive through a city with labyrinth streets, where no one walks, where no voices speak
Where empty towers above me rise toward an empty, starless sky
Like a cold wind washing over me, I saw the meaning of this dream
I felt that I was finally free, I felt that I was finally free

[Chorus:]

You lie before me sleeping, your eyes flutter in a dream
Am I in you? Are you in me? What should I believe? What should I believe?
But you know what they say... You know what they say