My friend gave everything he owns away And my friend says now he's happier that way He said did you ever notice that the more you own, the more worries you have? I thought about my rent check and my bank account and couldn't help but understand He told me that he's going back to Santa Cruz to live on a boat Without a phone or a thing in his hands I'll stay in Chicago to work and go to school And fuck off with my shitty fucking band He said "Brendan, you should try it, it makes you feel so good" Brendan, you should try it, it makes you feel so good So I threw away a stereo and some clothes To show I understood Down on the Gulf Coast the people look so happy Money gets you laid, I saw it on TV A brand new car, a VCR, a satellite dish and a 6 pack Just a few parts of the American dream Well my friend had a dream to be free He made it come true by giving away his TV Yeah, my friend had a dream to be free He made it come true with a backpack and his feet And now I walk along the city street and no one smiles or talks to me I see possessions that run peoples' lives Everything we own makes us afraid to be friends Sharing used to be natural, it'll never be that way again But my friend relearned how to be a human being How to stop and talk to people on the street He gave everything he owned away And lives his dream with just a backpack and his feet