I was just a boy
A rough and restless child
All skin and bones and thistles
A tough weed growing wild
Someday I'd be an astronaut
And make my way up to Mars
But I was like a monkey
With my hand stuck in a jar
I was holding on to something
That I couldn't make my own
At times it seemed so hopeless
But I wouldn't let it go
No I wouldn't let it go
No I would not let it go
Once I took a penny
Placed it on the track
When the freight train flattened it
I couldn't change it back
I was never lost
In my little town
But I remember hoping
That someday I'd be found
(chorus)
(chorus)
...I'm barely awake on another endless walk to school. Finally, my friend Tim catches up with me. We hurry past the scary gray church and the gas station that gives out Green Stamps. Tim is asking what my plans are for summer vacation, but I change the subject to The Green Lantern. Oh, I have very big plans for my life, but for some reason, I want to keep them very well hidden. My immediate goal is to blend into the background and not make noticeable waves. Kind of like human wallpaper. I don't know how or why it happens, but everything changes pretty quickly right about the time I turn thirteen. It's like someone flips a switch in my brain and a bank of bright lights goes on and shorts out at the same time...