I Watched You Taking Off

Meaning is sometimes hard to spot
It begins with the flickering of cigarettes
In the darkness of a dorm room
Somewhere in the suffocated mid-west
But if this is real, then I was mistaken
And if there is truth, then why can't we find it?
But beauty comes to those who have been waiting
For something that is bigger than themselves

But this is the sound of the hopeless kids
As they scream from the basements
Of the houses of their parents and...
This is the sound of the hopeless ones

As they stare down at their books
And realize they have been lied to
But if this is real, then I was mistaken
If the vision's gone, then I was not aware

Consistency like that which I have craved
Is that people change so unexpectedly
And realization finds you in a drunken airport
Some planes depart and others never arrived

So with this in mind, I don't plan on waiting
If it's time to leave and break these old ties
Without something more the vision is fading
But until it's gone the pain will make us try

But this is the hope I have been searching for
As the wings catch the sunlight of the cold Nebraska skyline
And this is the dream I am dying in
As I wake to find tomorrow
Be content without perfection
But if this is real then I was mistaken
If the vision is gone then I was not aware