(Janis Ian & Jon Vezner)
|
This old town should've burned down in 1929
|
That's when we stood in line
|
Waiting for our soup
|
Swallowing our pride
|
This old town should've burned down in 1931
|
When the rain refused to come
|
Air filled up our bellies
|
Dust filled up our lungs
|
And we thought our time had come
|
|
[Chorus:]
|
This old town was built by hand
|
In the dust bowl of the Mother land
|
There must be rock beneath this sand
|
Oh, I'll be damned
|
This town still stands
|
|
This old town should've burned down in 1944
|
When the last men went to war
|
They came back different
|
If they came back at all
|
This old town should've burned down in 1956
|
That's when the twister hit
|
And all our hopes were buried
|
Beneath the boards and bricks
|
And we almost called it quits
|
|
[Chorus]
|
|
[Bridge:]
|
Somewhere in the distance
|
The city lights do shine
|
The sidewalks gleam with neon dreams
|
That call from time to time
|
When my children's children
|
Ask me why I didn't go
|
They say the heart of any town
|
Is the people that you've known
|
They'll always call you home
|
|
[Chorus]
|
|
-----------------
|
This Old Town
|
Nanci Griffith |