〔Intro〕 [Handclaps, foot stomps, heavy slap bass, horn stab] (Woo! Yeah~) (Check it out baby! Blow on the cassette tape...) (Here comes that groove~) (Ooh-yeah~ Yeah~ Ah~) 〔Verse 1〕 [Raspy, talky, funky groove] I was only twelve back then... Thought I was the king of the whole block~ (Woo!) Not a dime in my pocket, But my mouth was bigger than anybody's! Built a Tamiya Double Star 4WD... Swapped the motor, floor it to the end~ (Ooh-yeah!) Pulled an anime shine card, peeled back the foil... Thought I'd already won the whole world! Shouldered that dead-weight cassette HiFi... Carried it down to Ocean Beach, blasted the bass~ They call that "burning the machine" — you know what I mean? (Woo! So good!) 〔Verse 2〕 [Raspy, playful] The RC off-road buggy tearing through the mud~ The NES plugged into the living room TV~ (Yeah-e-yeah!) Ugh, the cartridge won't read? Pick it up, blow on it real good! (Hu-hu-hu~) Thought these toys were the whole of my life~ Wanted the racing set, wanted the cards, Bugging my parents every single day~ (No way baby!) 〔Pre-Chorus〕 [Gospel choir hums, building, high-pitch vibrato] (Ah~~~~~ Yeah~~~~~) Time flew by in the blink of an eye... The silly kid, the glasses got thicker and thicker~ Used to beg the whole world to play along... Then grew up and got slapped by reality hard~ (Woo-baby!) My mindset changed, The way I see the world changed too~ 〔Chorus〕 [Full band, horns, double-tracked, gospel call-and-response] (Listen to me now!) Every stage of the road Has its own pursuit! (Ooh-yeah!) Not everything you want, You have to have it all! Back then the wallet was deep, fresh seafood on the menu~ (Lobster and crab, baby~) Now I sit at the night market, a bowl of lo mein hits the spot~ (With a soft egg, so good!) Don't cry over what you can't hold, let it drift with the wind~ Learning to be friends with myself is the most comfortable remedy~ (Yeah-e-yeah!) 〔Verse 3〕 [Raspy, self-deprecating, talky] The me I am now, looking at a single dollar~ (How big is it?) Holy cow, it looks as big as a washbasin! (So damn big!) Walk into the grocery store, first stop... Eyes locked on the yellow discount tags~ Bento save twenty, ramen buy-one-get-one-free... I grin like a little crook who struck gold~ No new headphones? Wearing the old ones till they fall apart is a kind of bliss! (Ooh!) 〔Bridge〕 [Call and response: raspy lead + gospel choir, intimate, defiant] [Lead] A twelve-year-old came to ask me [Choir] Came to ask me... [Lead] My card can't run the new game, can I get a new one? [Choir] Mm~ Mm~ [Lead] His dad said no money, told him to earn it himself [Lead] My thumb slipped, blocked his account [Choir] Blocked his account... [Lead] Advice he won't hear, a lie would dishonor his parents [Lead] Every age has its own pursuit [Choir] Has its own pursuit... [Lead] Not everything you want, you have to get [Choir] Get it all... is enough 〔Guitar Solo〕 [Gritty blues-rock guitar, organ swells, high energy] 〔Final Chorus〕 [Maximum energy, all voices belting, full gospel choir] (Listen to me now!) Every stage of the road Has its own pursuit! (WOAH!) Not everything you want, You have to have it all! Back then the wallet was deep, fresh seafood on the menu~ (Fly high baby!) Now I sit at the night market, a bowl of lo mein hits the spot~ (Crunch it up!) No money to spend big, learn how to live lean first~ Learning to be friends with myself is the most comfortable remedy~ (Hoo-yeah!) 〔Outro〕 [Handclaps, bass, lone tremolo Hammond, strip back] (Shoo-bi-doo-wah, Ba-da-da-di-da~) (One dollar as big as a washbasin~ that night market lo mein hits the spot~) (Blow on the cartridge~ Goodbye my childhood~) [faint whisper, raspy] ...I was once that kid who thought he was the baddest~ [final heavy kick, lingering Hammond chord, fade to silence]
