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Adam (Arcata) Lyrics by Mark Abel

The Dream Gallery: Seven California Portraits

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Drive past dear old Humboldt State --
Hillside haven for alternate realities, the North Coast’s coolest girls
Memories of sweet surrender, nude beneath the redwoods
Gently fading now. ...

Head for the java hut just off the square
Step over the sidewalk scruffies who kissed off the material world
Now here’s my man Zeke;
We’ll take our kayaks to Mad River Slough
Floating on God’s creation, the sеabirds wheeling high
So near and yet so far from the answеrs that we seek
We want to contribute!
So many pathways, how can I be sure?
Zeke laughs at my mistrust of the universe

Gina is teaching kids in the slums of East Timor
Gary is gonna be helping a scientist to map the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Phil is doing free web designs from a storefront in Harlem
Chuck, the most brilliant of all, went back to the family farm in Garberville
-- a one-crop town. (Cash crop, you might say.)
Kimberly sold out and moved to Redmond;
The graduation Lexus must have sealed the deal
And that pretty much covers my crew

What now?

Praise be to idleness, Zeke says
Born too many centuries too late to be a Roman patrician
Or a hunter-gatherer striding through the fields of ancient Eurasia
I love him like a brother, but I have a different destiny

Clarity’s elusive in this misty backwater;
Jobs are scarce, girlfriends scarcer
At long last, this may be the hour
When I ponder the unthinkable
“California is an island drifting far from the continent,”
Matthias McKinley, my favorite professor, said
“You’ll never understand America ‘til you have seen it all.”
Soon I will leave the patchouli womb

I don’t know where I’m going
But it’s probably far from here
Maybe they need me in Cleveland or in dying Detroit
I’ll aid their transition to the post-industrial age

I will remember all the fun we had
Chasing utopias and rarely sad
Picture the setting sun over the Pacific’s horizon
It will inspire eternally
Credits
Mark Abel

Mark Abel

About “Adam (Arcata)” by Mark Abel

Read the complete lyrics to "Adam (Arcata)" by Mark Abel from the album "The Dream Gallery: Seven California Portraits". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Pop.

"Adam (Arcata)" is performed by Mark Abel. from the album "The Dream Gallery: Seven California Portraits" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Adam (Arcata)", explore more songs by Mark Abel using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

View all songs and biography for Mark Abel · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"Adam (Arcata)" is credited to Mark Abel. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Adam (Arcata)" appears on "The Dream Gallery: Seven California Portraits".

Visit the Mark Abel artist page at /artist/mark-abel for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.

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