Nineteen, actin' thirty-three,
Livin' out a young girl's dream as planned
A brick home, a mimosa tree, a single-car family man
She stayed at home 'cause she wanted to,
He told her "That's what good mothers do" and she listened
So he worked days, he worked nights,
He worked so hard to get it right for them
So this is life
When you get lost in a fairytale
When you dream big and you love well
When you barely get by
Thirty-five, mother of three,
Kids at school, daytime TV: it's too quiet
While the laundry dries she reads a book,
When the kids get home she'll start to cook while they fight
He works overtime and he talks all day,
When he gets home he don't have nothin' to say and she's dyin'
They need different things it's evident,
And all they share is what they spent on tryin'
So this is life
When you give up who you wanna be
When you get good at make-believe
When you're livin' a lie
Now she's forty-nine,
Feelin' seventy and hangin' onto a emory with both hands
They lost a child ten years ago,
One's strung out, one doesn't know who she is
He took a lover just last year,
He broke a bond and lives in fear of the man he knew he'd become
So he worked long days and stayed out
Nights tryin' to find the right way to run
So this is life
When you throw out the game-plan
When you can't seem to understand
When you wish you could fly
Guess this is life
When losin' is winnin'
When you see a new beginnin'
In the form of goodbye