We'll live out our lives on this dirty old street Only because we just can't compete But in the concrete of our younger days We left our names, our names
Just like the people before When they reached the distant shore With their drink and their dance And their dreams and sincere aims
All ghosts long gone, through old buildings they stare With their offspring staring at me for they are still there Dreams that are dead and lives not realized
Well, why did we write our names In these streets to show we're alive? Alive, alive, alive, alive
Well, Chicago is my home and I'll never went to Roam To live on any sun swept distant shore Well, it is that I was reared by forbearer's so revered And I sing the songs that they all sang before
Well, any woman that's neared me Has been repelled most thoroughly Still I'm a lover, God, I am foremost of all
A musician that's my call Of high degree professional But I'm afraid that they do not know my trade at all
Well, if it's every twenty years Some small relief to me appears Then the crock of gold will wait until
Until that day to defend myself no more Lay the shield of anger at my door And the sword of alcohol will stow away
Well, all young people in our town Are overworked and broken down Begging cheques but it's just not enough they're giving
Crying quietly, living life so desperately That something has to make This life worth living
Real life is only a time line And the excitement holds the short times It will never measure up to what TV sells as great
All the drunken jokes and views Exciting pubs they tell the news But the exciting pats Well, they just weren't all that great
Well, if it's every twenty years Some small relief to me appears Then the crock of gold will wait
Until that day to defend myself no more Lay the shield of anger at my door And the sword of alcohol will stow away, go
Well, I met a girl one night And enchantment fixed our sight So we decided we would hold it for awhile
But she would not love me So inside me finally, I said, "It's not your fault But I would like love if only for a while"
Well, it's on and on I've seen Yeah, that's how it's always been And how it will be as ever on I go
Oh, but ever on I will Through all the banal times until Well, I find some place To me that seems like home
Well, and if it's every twenty years Some small relief to me appears Then the crock of gold will wait
Until that day to defend myself no more Lay the shield of anger at my door And the sword of alcohol will stow away
Well, and if it's every twenty years Some small relief to me appears Then the crock of gold will wait
Until that day to defend myself no more Lay the shield of anger at my door And the sword of alcohol will stow away