Back In The Day
Blues Traveler Lyrics

It's been a while since I've left home
It has been quite some time since I have left my hometown

But I'm coming on back today
Despite this fact, I am returning home today

Kinda funny but I picture it only
Oddly enough, I can only imagine my hometown as it was in the past

Exactly as it was back in the day
I have a specific image of my hometown in my mind that is from the past

Sure enough when the train pulls in
When the train arrives, to my surprise

There's so little that I recognize
I find that there are very few things that I still recognize about my hometown

Is it the scenery or my selective memory
I wonder if I am seeing things differently because of the changes in scenery or because of my own selective memory

Or just a simple fact that I gotta realize
Or perhaps it is simply a fact that I need to come to terms with

My friends have gone and their lives have moved on
Many of my friends have moved on and their lives have changed

And I guess that's just the way it is
I suppose that is just how things are

If this town has grown beyond my home
If this town has changed so much that it is no longer recognizable as my home

I guess it all comes down to this
I suppose it all boils down to this

I close my eyes and feel like it was back in the day
I reminisce and create a mental image of my hometown as it was in the past

But those times have long been through
However, those times have come and gone long ago

The dying of the light is gone
The end of the good times is over

But it's back in the day
Yet, somehow, my memories are still vivid and real

Like a wish that comes half true
It's like a wish that only partially comes true

There was a time when it was easy to find
There used to be a time when it was easy to find

A hangout that you knew was yours by name
A spot where everyone knows you by name

And mine or not I could find the same spot
Even if it wasn't originally my spot, I knew I could still go there

But it's never gonna be the same
Unfortunately, things will never be how they once were

I've been away and I've seen too much
I've been away from my hometown and have gained too many new experiences

Looks like I've been moving on as well
It seems like I, too, have been moving on with my life

And when I started to not really belong
I began to feel like I didn't truly belong there anymore

I suppose I was unable to tell
Perhaps I wasn't fully aware of it until now

But I ain't sad and no it isn't bad
I am not sad about it, nor is it necessarily a bad thing

It's just one more thing I'm coming to know
It is simply another realization I am coming to understand

If you're alive you didn't finish the ride
As long as you're still alive, there is more life to be lived and more experiences to be had

No telling where it's going to go
It's impossible to predict where life will take you