It started off a routine day
I got through the morning in the usual way
I caught the bus on time
Good morning, Mr. Driver, drive
As I sat inside my overcoat I clutched my cane
And pressed my nose against the foggy window pane
Ho hum
The life I lead would even make a dead man yawn
Midday comes
I break for lunch
With my sandwich and a beer I go on a hunch
To the park where I hope to find
A little bit of peace of mind
As I sat there on a bench amidst the rodent race
I felt a strange sensation that without a trace appeared
But then as quickly disappeared again

So tell me what’s the bloody point of playing the game
With so much to lose yet so little to gain
You sell your life away
Can’t you see you’re just a cog working like a dog
You trade your future for a dead-end job
That’s full of routine days
Routine days

I race the clock to the end of my day
The paycheck in my pocket makes me feel okay
But was it worth the grind
Just to keep from falling behind
I stand here in the queue behind a foul cigar
My face discreetly buried in a book on Mars
Humdrum
And I’m waiting on the pier ’til Charon comes

They used to tell me that I was just a fool
Dreaming away my time
But they soon found the more they put me down
The more I blocked them from my mind
I used to get my teacher so uptight
He’d always have to ask his questions twice

I’d be a million miles away
Drifting through time and space
I was a million miles away from any place
I was a million miles away
In a world of my own
A million miles away to parts unknown
I’d be gone

My end-of-term reports would always show
I did pretty well at school
But I kept them hid from all the other kids
I didn’t want to seem uncool
My homeroom teacher didn’t understand
The reason why I never raised my hand

I was a million miles away
In a world of my own
A million miles away in parts unknown
I’d be gone

I’ve flown across the galaxies
And been to Berkeley Square
I’ve passed the time with Sophocles
But never left my chair

But I’m a million miles away
Drifting through time and space
A million miles away from any place
A million miles away
I’ve built a world all my own
A million miles away to parts unknown
I’d be gone
A million miles away

Hodad made the scene toting a six-pack of cold cola
A stogie smoking in hand
A groovin’ in his sandals

California’s on my mind
Surf and sand setting in the sun
California’s on my mind
One day you’re gonna be a place in our memory
Na na na na na na na

When Woody hit the dunes flying foxtails and Old Glory
(Glory)
Rubber ripped the sand
He gunned a souped-down Stingray
Hey hey

Ah, California
She’s in mythical Malibu
Sitting on the ocean
Goodbye mythical Malibu
The San Andreas Misfortune
Will claim the lives of sons and wives
The headlines will fill page after page

California’s on my mind
Surf and sand setting in the sun
In the sun in the sun in the sun
In the setting sun
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
One day you’re gonna be one sweet memory
Oh yeah
California

Swingin’ on the beach
To the sounds of their time
Yeah yeah yeah