I Watched You Take Off

Meaning is sometimes hard to spot
It begins with the flickering of cigarettes
In the darkness of a dorm room
Ssomewhere 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 that they've been lied to
But if this is real then I was mistaken
And 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 arrive
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
It'll make us try
But this is the hope I've 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
And if the vision's gone then I was not aware