Roller Coaster

I grew up surrounded by manic depression. My dad and his dad both suffered with it their entire lives. I suffered from chronic depression, and still do. But luckily I escaped that horrible bipolar torment. "Roller Coaster" is my attempt to project myself into my dad's mindset. I can never know for sure what he felt, but here's my best guess...


Roller Coaster

My life is a roller coaster
One that's moving much too fast
The highs are too high
And the lows are too low
But God how these lows can last.

I feel like I'm riding a coaster
With a blindfold over my eyes
I never can tell
If it's Heaven or Hell
That's waiting to take me by surprise.

Like my Father before me
And his before him too
I'm genetically sent
Through a life of torment
And there's nothing much I can do.

No matter how good the high times
They never can match these lows
In life I've been cheated
And yet I've conceded
Sometimes that's just how it goes.

And I really need somebody
To comfort me and take my hand
I just can't explain
The depth of my pain
In a way that most could understand.

But you seem so much like me
That I'm thinking if it's really true
Maybe you could
Help me feel good
And I could do the same for you.

Steven Pein
23 July 1994
Copyright 1994
.