What Can I Do
Smokie (Rock Ballads) Lyrics

Every dream that I dream
All my aspirations and desires seem to be intangible and beyond my reach

Seems to float on by
Without any definite direction or purpose, just fleeting away like a cloud in the wind

Like a cloud in the wind
Metaphorically compares the futility of dreams to the transient nature of clouds in the sky

Way up in the sky
In a higher realm, unattainable by human effort or will

Every move that I make
All my actions and decisions seem to be incorrect or misguided

Seems to be the wrong way
As if fate or circumstances are always conspiring against me to ensure failure and disappointment

Like a cold black night
Life's setbacks and failures seem as dark and bleak as a night without stars

After a summer day
Hoping for a bright and warm future, but instead experiencing endless darkness and despair

You still play my guitar
Someone else still enjoys what used to be my passion and source of joy

With a smile on my face
Even though I'm pretending to be happy, inside I'm hurting and filled with regret

Now everything's changed
My life has taken a turn for the worse and nothing is as it used to be

My whole life's rearranged
Everything that once held meaning has been rearranged and taken away from me

From the day I was born
My identity has been predestined and not within my control

Sidle Jinks was my name
The name given to me further reinforces a feeling of helplessness and lack of agency in shaping my own life

Though I tried and I tried
Despite my best efforts, nothing seems to change my circumstance or fate

That name still remains
The name given to me stays and can never be fully erased or forgotten

I hear voices all singing
The past continues to haunt me and influence my present, making me feel like I am not alone but surrounded by unseen forces

But no one is there
These voices are just remnants of my memories and past experiences

It's a ghost of my life
The things that I have lost or cannot get back continue to haunt me in the form of ghosts and memories of the past

Bringing past tense to mind
Reminding me of things that have already happened and cannot be changed or undone

Lokin' key inside me
I am trapped in my own mind with no apparent escape from my situation

From the freedom and sin
Desiring the freedom of a different life, but also feeling a sense of shame or guilt for wanting something different

Oh come let me in
Longing for a chance to start over and begin anew

I'll start all over again
A glimmer of hope that there is a chance to redeem oneself and change one's circumstances