I went downtown walkin' on the pavement Talked to the bum 'bout overthrowin' the government Big shot no more / smokestack / sidewalk An' I can't take much more ! A generation nowhere in our own country Outside the mainstream, we all dissipate I'll back a man but it brings me down An' I can't take much more !
I been up, I been down All my friends are underground I been up, I been down I can see things clearly now I said "Up!" - I said "Up"!
Sex, with hydrogen, running through my bloodstream Underneath the stairway, I hear the gypsies scream Brimstone hurricane, lost in the acid rain An' I can't take much more ! Deadlines, on-time, hangin' on a clothesline Down on the street, where they're lookin' for a mainline Asphalt concrete is dangerous it's a sin An' I can't take much more !
I been up, I been down, All my friends have come and gone I been up, I been down I can see things clearly now I said "Up!", ohhh, I said "Up!"
I been up, I been down All my friends are undergound I been up, I been down I can see things clearly now I been up, I been down, All my friends have come and gone I been up, I been down I can see things clearly now I been up
Listen to the radio, don't know where to go Ridin' on a cyclone, anywhere the wind blows Downbeat / sidewalk, can't hear myself talk An' I can't take much more !