“All Things Must Pass”

  

c. 2026 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(7-26)

 

 

A guy down the street got caught driving drunk

It was just another story, living life in a funk

Getting too seedy and slow to the pitch

The mirror reflected a poor son-of-a-bitch

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

Heard the sirens scream ‘bout a crash down the road

A neighbor told me that cars were being towed

And I’m sitting here just working on a drink

Glad and content with living right on the brink

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

The seasons change from winter white to gold

Meanwhile I’m lonely and growing old

I never expected to find a trophy for the win

But it’s all come down to tossing bags in the trash bin

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

Been married twice, with both vows stalled

I did what I did, when the moment called

The bottom line there, was a bankruptcy case

Standing at the courthouse for a slap in the face

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

Every now and then I’ll play guitar on the stoop

Singing songs of heartache and circling the loop

It’s a proud story for a working man’s kind

The sort of report that I’ve always kept in mind

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

Some of the people that live on my street

Seem to believe that they can compete

With bankrollers and hustlers that have skills for sale

But when the bell is sounded, they’re kicked in the tail

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

I don’t believe that folks fed up with trickery

Have a real chance at escaping their misery

It’s part of the game, rules written in chalk

When the rain comes, there’s a mess on the sidewalk

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

Kids have it better, they imagine their fun

Adults get to settle debts, at the point of a gun

But I won’t get worried as robber-barons barge in

By then I’ll be drunk enough to greet them with a grin

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

The silliest refrain is one learned from a fool

Who’s made a career of following society’s rules

Napkins in place, folded neatly and clean

Glad to be a cog in the money machine

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

You might think my attitude sounds hard and unkind

But I’ve lived a good life on cornbread and moonshine

I won’t feel guilty for making ends meet

And staying on the good side of those keeping the beat

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

Snake flags and rebel rags are a common snare

Where shopping at the dollar store is a family affair

Counting up pennies for a bottom-shelf kick

Drinking Beam’s Eight-Star or Ancient Age by the crick

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

I don’t let it jam me while pondering the pall

Of smoke from a trailer with a hole in the wall

They’ll sweep up the ashes, empty and clear

By tomorrow morning, another singlewide will appear

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

My family is not one with royal inclinations

I have no connection with the heads of foreign nations

I’m a blue-collar bum, in the eyes of a crowd

And that keeps me humble, so far as allowed

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

I’ve gone pretty far on the fumes from a stovepipe

And pushed when I had to, for reaching what’s right

Comforts were few when I entered the scene

But that chill in the air toughened my genes

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

 

A guy down the street got caught driving drunk

Wife showed him the door, he’s living out of a car trunk

Her wedding ring sailed from the deck to their yard

Now he’s eating bologna, fried up in lard

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass

I’ll give thanks to Jesus, though some are surprised

It’s never my habit to take a slip to the downside

I’m grateful for blessings, even when they are slim

Every day above the dirt I’ll dedicate to him

Life comes at you fast

All things must pass