She was on fire, wild, and American
She burns it out probably just because she can
And if I had a dollar for everything I should have said
I'd probably still be busted I would throw it all away again
Lightning bugs light up all across the Southern sky
Some guys get it all and they don't even need to try
I watched you roll away, but you didn't even say 'Goodbye'
And now I hate the night, I'm guessing that's the reason why
And this, this is my life on the 4th of July
It isn't much, but at least it's mine
Got in my van, ended up in Boston
Thought about my friends and how easily I lost them
I'd do it all again, I'll leave everyone exhausted
Some folks get a break, me I never got one
I thought of you at night when I would drink too much
If you thought about me too, you'd never try to get in touch
Went back to school and I ran into some guys I knew
We started up this band but we couldn't seem to get it through
We got some gigs, eventually we lost that too
Did you ever think that maybe if you're not happy it's because of you?
And this, this is my life on the 4th of July
It isn't much but at least it's mine
Mine...
I got a job selling ads for magazines
At night when I would play I would think about her constantly
Everything I loved, it somehow got away from me
And suicide, I talked about it openly
I finally quit, or maybe I got fired, I don't know
Doesn't matter just as long as it happened, though
Added up the fears and doubts I'd been living with
Songs of lightning bugs, and school, and work, and all that sh**
This, this is my life on the 4th of July
It isn't much, but at least it's mine
Mine...
I lost a girl sometime and a couple friends
Small talking parties, I never could stomach it
I'm old enough to say 'I remember when'
But I don't have the time for your nostalgia or your criticisms
You live and learn, me well I learned to let go
Of parents and bosses and people who don't want you to grow
I think that anything you want to, you can do
And no one's gonna tell me just who the hell I should sing to
This, this is my life on the 4th of July
It isn't much but at least it's mine
At least it's mine
This is mine and nothing and nobody's ever gonna take this away
It the blueprint of your life
It's the end result
It's the end result
It's the journey