You couldn't see the stars because you were waiting for the sun
while the things you were going to do became the things you could have done
now everybody's up ahead, you missed the starting gun
you're still trying to tie your laces but your race is almost run

Now you're lost for what to say
because it wasn't meant to be this way
You've got your back up against the wall
and it wasn't meant to be this way at all

All those great expectations that are fading oh so fast
as you watch your brilliant future disappear into the past
It may be way too late, but you start to see at last
that the time is running out before the final die is cast

Now you're lost for what to say
because it wasn't meant to be this way
You've got your back up against the wall
and it wasn't meant to be this way at all

You might start to make a sprint just before the whistle blows
and it all seems so unjust, but that's just the way it goes
and the way it's always been and how it will always be
as you scream at the spectators and try to punch the referee

Now you're lost for what to say
because it wasn't meant to be this way
You've got your back up against the wall
and it wasn't meant to be this way at all