Dorothy At Forty
Cursive Lyrics

Dorothy, I know you've had amazing dreams
I recognize that you've had great aspirations, Dorothy.

We can't go chasing down each golden street
It's not practical to pursue every opportunity that presents itself.

Each and every rainbow, each passion, each unattainable goal
We can't chase after all the unlikely dreams and desires we have.

We're not in dreamland anymore
We're not children anymore; we need to accept reality.

Dorothy, it seems you'll never understand
It appears that you're resistant to accepting the current situation, Dorothy.

This here land is everything we have
This is our reality and we can't escape it. We must work with what we have.

Every sweat-stained collar, every dollar,
We must work hard every day and make every dollar count.

Every bent and bloodied spur
We must face the struggles and hardships of our lives.

We're not the kids that we once were
We've grown up and need to take responsibility for our lives.

We can't be the adults we want to be
As adults, we must make difficult choices and endure hardships that we don't necessarily want to face.

Dreams are all you have, dreams have held you back
You've been holding yourself back by focusing on unrealistic dreams rather than dealing with reality.

Dreamers never live, only dream of it
People can't just dream their way to success; they need to take action to achieve their goals.

Dream cars, dream houses, dream jobs, dream spouses
It's not practical to expect to have everything you've ever dreamed of in life.

Dreams of tornadoes, cities of emerald
Some dreams are fantastical and not worth pursuing in reality.

And I know we swore we'd make more of ourselves
We promised ourselves that we would do better in our lives.

But this plot is literally our lot in life.
This is the situation that we have been given in life and we must work with it.

American dreams pollute our cities
The constant pressure to achieve success can negatively impact our lives and communities.

Our piece of the pie can't fill our bellies
Our small portion of the American dream is not enough to sustain us.

(More!) More square inches
We always want more than what we currently have.

(More!) Picket fences
We want the traditional markers of success, such as a house with a white picket fence.

(More!) Clothes on the line
We focus too much on acquiring material goods.

(More!) Naps at noontime
We desire rest and relaxation rather than working hard to achieve success.

More of our fair share
We believe we are entitled to more than what we currently have.

More of our birthright
We feel entitled to success because of our birthright as Americans.

More of what we're owed
We believe we deserve more than what we have received in life.

Paid vacation
We desire time off from work to relax and enjoy our lives.

(More!) Entertainment
We want to be constantly entertained rather than working hard to achieve our goals.

(More!) Compensation
We desire more money and rewards for our hard work.

(More!) Gratuitous gratification
We want instant gratification and pleasure, rather than working hard to achieve our goals.

Dorothy, wake up, Dorothy, wake up
Wake up to reality and take responsibility for your own success.

Dorothy, wake up, it's time for work
Stop dreaming and start taking action to achieve your goals.