Hired Driver Track

This is the only song on this album that was not written on (or about) October 27th, 2002.

In the school year of 2002 - 2003, we would often take a taxi from Jerusalem back to school in Telstone, and the going rate was 40 shekels.

The next school year (2003 - 2004) I hadn't been to town in a while, and when I finally went once, the taxi driver wanted 45 shekels for the ride back. Now, being an American, I don't usually haggle prices with Israelis, but I was certain that the price was 40 shekels and so I made it clear that that was all I was willing to pay. Finally, he relented and let us in for 40 shekels.

On the drive back, I noticed his eyes in the rear-view mirror, and I saw this old man with bags under his eyes, just trying to eke out his living so he could save up enough money to go to America and make it big one day, but really he was just a tired old Israeli with dreams in his head, and so when he let us off, I gave him the extra 5 shekels. Later that night I wrote this song about him...

...And about us, and how we all have big dreams in our heads and how we're becoming that old man while we dream...