Lyrics If I Could Be Anywhere - Jackson Browne

If I Could Be Anywhere

Sliding on the shimmering surface between two worlds
Standing at the center of time as it uncurls
Cutting through the veil of illusion
Moving beyond past conclusions
Rendering all doubt and confusion clear
If I could be anywhere
If I could be anywhere
If I could be anywhere right now
I would want to be here
Searching for the future among the things we’re throwing away
Swimming through the ocean of junk we produce every day
You have to admit it’s clever
Maybe the pinnacle of human endeavor
When things are made to throw away but never made to disappear
If I could be anywhere
If I could be anywhere
If I could be anywhere in time
I would want to be here
The Romans, the Spanish, the British, the Dutch
American exceptionalism — so out of touch
Successions of empire repeating its course
Extracting the wealth and ruling by force
On and on through time
But the world can’t take it very much longer
And we won’t make it 'less we’re smarter and stronger
The world’s going to shake itself free of our greed somehow
If I could be anywhere
If I could be anywhere in time
If I could be anywhere and change things
It would have to be now
They say nothing lasts forever
But all the plastic ever made is still here
And no amount of closing our eyes will make it disappear
And the world can’t take it very much longer
And we won’t make it 'less we’re smarter and stronger
The world’s going to shake itself free of our greed somehow
And the world can’t take it, that you can see
If the oceans don’t make it neither will we
The world’s going to shake itself all the way free somehow
If I could be anywhere
If I could be anywhere in time
If I could be anywhere and change the outcome
It would have to be now