frozen in time

[INTRO — SPARSE PIANO, MUTED TRUMPET] The museum. I always liked that place. You can go there a thousand times. Everything's still where you left it. Which is pretty rare, if you think about it. [VERSE 1 — LAID-BACK, CONVERSATIONAL] The Eskimo, the boats, the birds in the glass, The Indians hunting, the whole frozen past. You walk through the halls and the years just pass, But nothing moves, and nothing grows up. The same old cases, the same old light, The same blue whale hanging over your head. You can go there in the morning, go back at night— Everything's exactly like it was when you left. And that's the thing, I guess, that's the whole deal: You don't have to explain how you happen to feel. Nobody asks if you're different today, Nobody says, “Holden, you're changing,” or “Hey— What happened to that kid? He used to be fun.” They just stand there, holding still, being done. [CHORUS — MUTED TRUMPET ANSWERS EACH LINE] Frozen in time, safe in the glass, Nothing gets older, nothing goes past. People keep changing, they don't even ask, But the museum stays still when I can't. Frozen in time, nobody's gone, Same little world when you come back alone. I like things better when they don't move on. [VERSE 2 — DRUMS ENTER SOFTLY] There's this one thing about the museum, though— You don't have to go in. You already know. You can think about it, and that's almost the same, Except it isn't, but I won't get into that game. I used to go with my class, and the teacher would talk, And we'd all walk around like a bunch of dead clocks. You'd get sick of the noise, the pushing, the crowd, But the cases were quiet. They never talked loud. And I know it's stupid. I know what you'd say: “Things change, Holden. That's life. That's the way.” Sure. Fine. Terrific. I know all that stuff. It's just that knowing doesn't make it less rough. You can say “everybody grows” till you're blue, But that doesn't mean I want it happening to you. Or me. Or anybody I happen to know. Especially when nobody tells you it's time to go. [CHORUS — A LITTLE MORE WEIGHT, STILL RESTRAINED] Frozen in time, safe in the glass, Nothing gets older, nothing goes past. People keep changing, they don't even ask, But the museum stays still when I can't. Frozen in time, nobody's gone, Same little world when you come back alone. I like things better when they don't move on. [VERSE 3 — BASS AND TRUMPET, MORE PERSONAL] You could bring somebody there, somebody you knew, And they'd look at the same things, but they'd be new. They'd have a different face, a different way Of looking at the stuff you saw yesterday. Maybe they'd laugh at the Eskimo's coat, Or make some dumb crack about the old wooden boat. And you'd think, “That's funny,” and you'd laugh along— Then you'd wonder when your old joke went wrong. Because you remember the person they were, And they're standing right there, but it's not quite her. Or him. Or whoever. You know what I mean. It's like looking at a place through a dirty screen. And maybe you're the one who's different, not them. Maybe you're the one who's been moving again. That's the lousy part. You can't really tell If the world changed around you, or you changed yourself. [BRIDGE — DRUMS DROP OUT, MUTED TRUMPET SOLO] I don't mind getting older. That's not exactly it. I mean, I mind it a little. Everybody does. But it's more like— You can't go back and check. You can't see what you looked like Before you knew what you know. [VERSE 4 — BARE PIANO, VOICE EXPOSED] I think about people when they were little, Before they got mean, before things got brittle. Before they had secrets they wouldn't explain, Before they learned how to act like they're sane. Maybe that's why I like all those things in their cases— Nobody's got older. Nobody changes their faces. Nobody gets married, or sick, or leaves town. Nobody looks up and says, “You're different now.” And I don't want to be some guy who just stays In one place forever, counting the days. I know you can't live in a glass-covered room. I know everything changes. I know things go boom. It's just that sometimes I get this feeling inside Like the world's moving on and I'm stuck on the side. And everybody's going somewhere, somehow— I wish I could see what they're turning into now. [FINAL CHORUS — QUIETER, TRUMPET ALONE] Frozen in time, safe in the glass, Nothing gets older, nothing goes past. People keep changing, they don't even ask, And I can't keep up with the things that don't last. Frozen in time, nobody's gone, Same little world when you come back alone. I like things better when they don't move on. [OUTRO — TRUMPET FADES, NO DRUMS] I didn't go in. I just kept walking. The museum was still there, anyway. I guess that's something.