Well, I turned right on first, left on white oak
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Back to my old neighborhood
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I saw old Doc Randolph
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He was mowing his yard
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He's kept it up the best he could
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And Evelyn his wife of thirty-two years
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She smiled as I drove by
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And she waved from her front porch screen
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And she went back to reading her two dollar novel
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And playing with her wedding ring
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A few houses needed painting
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A few gates were unhinged
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But generally the place looked the same
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The driveways were full of bikes and Buick sedans
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Things any good American would claim
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And all them other lovers
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That married for cover
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They were out for the sacred nightly stroll
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They were wishing they were characters in two dollar novels
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Wishing for their weight in gold
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Now Mary Elizabeth
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She's my high school sweetheart
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She married my best high school friend
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He manages the hardware store
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She became a nurse
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And I became a memory to them
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And all my other buddies
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They just got lost in outer space
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And they ran off and served their country well
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They're all fighting in a war of two dollar novels
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Where only the toughest live to tell
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So I turned right on white oak, left on first
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Out of that old neighborhood
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I left Doctor and Mrs. Randolph
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Sipping iced tea on their sun porch
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Wondering if I'd ever come to any good
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And on a thousand shady streets
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And in a thousand other towns
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Now people, Lord, they're doing just the same
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They're all living their lives in two dollar novels
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And wondering why the the world is so insane
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They're all living their lives in two dollar novels
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And wondering why there's nothing left to gain
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-----------------
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Two Dollar Novels
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Nanci Griffith |