My Grown up Son

A painting hung
By a door in a hall
In a big and empty house
On a colorless wall
It was long since forgotten
With the change of affairs
In a town that's been empty
For 70 years
It hung in the corner
Without caption or frame
The painter who drew
Did not sign his name
Through the cracks and the stains
That were put on by time
Was a portrait of a handsome man
Fresh in his prime
I was taken there blindly
By a man I'd just met
To show me something I'd enjoy was his bet
He led me through forests
A night and a day
For the town was forgotten
And a great deal away
Past a bridge in the water
Washed out by a flood
Was a small fallen building
Covered in mud
And the trees down the road
With the branches so low
Moaned and cast shadows
Each time wind would blow
But the house down below it
With the roof falling in
Reminded me somehow of one I'd lived in
I opened the door
I walked down the hall
I came to the painting
On the colorless wall
It was here the main stopped me
For this we had come
For this he had brought me
Through moon and through sun
And it was here I stood speechless
For I had to agree
That the man in the painting
Looked a lot like me
(evil crying)
What am I to do?
I've remembered this before
It was a hundred years ago
I wasn't even born
I recall all the years
I remember how I died
What am I saying?
I am here and still alive
Do do do do do do
This is really getting freaky
I am starting to get scared
There's a man outside the window
And he's got a grizzly beard
He charges in the door
So of course I start to run
Then he grabs me by my arm
And he tells me he's my son
(hey dad, I'm your son)
What are you talking about?
I'm only 21
I don't think you could ever be my son
(hyperventilating)
Ah, but think harder
Just a week ago today
When you were lying on that sofa
And you heard someone say
You were only dreaming when I told you where to go
And you were only dreaming when I told you all you need to know
And you were only dreaming when I turned to you and said
Subtlety is the key to powers in your head
I remember what he's saying
This is really getting weird
I remember now my son
Is this man who first I feared
Now I look in the mirror
What is this I behold?
I am feeling very haggard
And I look very old
How is this possible?
I'm only 21
I'm not old enough to have a grown up son
(hyperventilating and crying)
He said this life you think you're living
Is all invented lies
When you were lying on that sofa
You were then hypnotized
They told you nice story
They said you were 21
They said you were young and handsome
And you didn't have a son
(AHH)
There's a paper on the table
Dated 1904
And I see out the window
People shopping at the store
And this house which first empty
And was falling down before
Now is furnished nicely and has carpet on the floor
Now I realize I was never 21
And I'm so proud of my self sufficient son
(hyperventilating and crying)
Dizzy and confused
I sit down in the chair
I pass out or fall asleep
I forget all my cares
Soon I am awaken by a pretty phD
She is shaking my arm
And she's whispering to me
You were only dreaming when I told you where to go
And you were only dreaming when you turned to me and said you know
And you were only dreaming when you thought you had a son
It was an experiment you're really 21
I jump up and panic
And I ran to the door
But she hollers to stop me saying
Wait there's one thing more
If you go down this hall
To the lady at the desk
She will give you your belongings
And she'll write you a check
I don't want your money
I'm yelling as I run
I've got to find my darling only son
(hyperventilating and crying)
The moral of the story is that if you are out of work
And you're sitting in the office with the unemployment clerk
If he offers you a job
That seems too good to be true
Don't you dare take it
Cuz it might come back to haunt you
Take me for example
I'm only 21
And I'm still looking for my darling grown up son
(excessive hyperventilating, wailing, and crying)