That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be

My father sits at night with no lights on

His cigarette glows in the dark

The living room is still

I walk by, no remark

I tiptoe past the master bedroom where

My mother reads her magazines

I hear her call sweet dreams

But I forget how to dream

(How to dream, how to dream)

But you say it's time we moved in together

And raised a family of our own, you and me

Well, that's the way I've always heard it should be

You want to marry me

My friends from college, they're all married now

They have their houses and their lawns

They have their silent noons

Tearful nights, angry dawns

Their children hate them for the things they're not (things they'll never be)

They hate themselves for what they are

And yet they drink, they laugh

Close the wound, hide the scar

But you say it's time we moved in together

And raised a family of our own, you and me

Well, that's the way I've always heard it should be

You want to marry me

You say we can keep our love alive

Babe, all I know is what I see

The couples cling and claw

And drown in love's debris

You say we'll soar like two birds through the clouds

But soon you'll cage me on your shelf

I'll never learn to be just me first

By myself

Well okay, it's time we moved in together

And raised a family of our own, you and me

Well, that's the way I've always heard it should be

You want to marry me

We'll marry