Survival
Written by Gerry Beckley, ©1980
Found on Alibi, America In Concert (85), The Very Best Of America, Encore: More Greatest Hits, Premium Gold Collection, Centenary Collection, Highway, and The Definitive America.

I'll survive you, I will survive you
Well, it's too late, I know, to change the way we go
From this day on I want to stay on
Now that I've started learning
And the tides started turning
Well, it's here I want to stay

I'll let the moon announce my arrival
To every eye that cares to see
Just working on the art of survival
Where do we go from here, where do we go from here

I'm alive here, I can survive dear
Though the weather might change
From the wind to the rain
Well, my heart remains the same

I'll let the moon announce my arrival
To every eye that cares to see
Just working on the art of survival
Where do we go from here, where do we go from here

Looked out on a sea of trouble
And I tried to stall for awhile
It's so hard to answer every question
And it's hard to protect your heart anymore

I'll let the moon announce my arrival (I am alive)
To every eye that cares to see
Just working on the art of survival (but I wonder)
Where do we go from here

I'll let the moon announce my arrival (I am alive)
To every eye that cares to see
Just working on the art of survival (but I wonder)
Where do we go from here

I'll let the moon announce my arrival (I am alive)
To every eye that cares to see
Just working on the art of survival (but I wonder)
Where do we go from here ...

Highway Highlight (from the box set booklet) Alibi was released in the U.S. in August 1980 and failed to spark much interest. One album track especially worthy of attention was "Survival," an acoustic-centered, midtempo tune by Beckley. "We were very fond of this song," Gerry says. "We were obviously shooting for a 'Sister Golden Hair' thing. We used some of the same ingredients: the 12-string intro and an elaborate, double-tracked guitar part by Dean Parks. But the label did't hear it as a single." There's a happy ending to this story, however: "It became a huge hit in Italy, went to #1, and sold half-a-million copies. It really put us on the map over there for the next two or three years. We went back and did soccer stadiums with 30,000 people a night."