When the sun sets beneath the mountain tops
And the water begins to rise
I try to contain my exci-itement
But the force of the night conquers my surprise
Kids on the street corner peddlin' maps
On how to meet the stars
Prostitute turns, my body burns
She'll cure your loneliness for half an hour

Cars breeze dow-own the avenue
Rock 'n' roll's suspended in mid air
A girl cha-anting nonsense takes my money
Puts a flower in my hair
Billboards grin and my head spins
This may be heaven but it's not my ho-ome
All the sunshine and beautiful people
Make me feel more and more alone

Southern California - where your drea-eams almost come true
Southern California - where everyone's a star except for you
Southern California - like a beautiful gir-irl you cannot touch
Everyone lives forever here - those were my thou-oughts

And I don't wanna be a part of that all American dream
But still I keep on comin' back, I can't let it get the best of me
(The best of me, best of me)
Lord give me the strength to see myself clearly, see myself clearly
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh, and time flies by like a meteor in the sky-y
And I'm wondering is it just me
Everything seems so perfect like some commerical on TV (on TV, TV, TV)
Lord give us the strength to show real feelings, real feelings

In Southern California - where your drea-eams almost come true
In Southern California - where everyone's a star except for you
Southern California - like a beautiful gir-irl you cannot touch
Everyone lives forever here, everyone lives forever here
Everyone lives forever here, everyone lives forever here
Everyone lives forever here, everyone lives forever here
Everyone lives forever here [fad