An outcry
To lost dreams and a sense of wonder
To the streets that raised him
Say "Goodbye" to the hope for the home he'd been holding
Say "Goodbye" and "Be gone" and "Be great"
To the friends who left when they still could
For the ones who chose to stay to waste away unplaced
Alone, and pray
To get out
To grow old
To grow strong
And leave this city, so familiar all it's places
All these memories turn each day more to gray
More they space out till it's once a year we'll catch up, maybe less
Or else just daydreams while he's working late
Thinks only of those friends and when they left
"Are we still friends at all, my friends?"
Can I leave?
Rewind and find a younger man
All hopes and goals and dreams alight and bright
With friendship at the crossroads in the night
"Now make a choice," the city said
We were barely twenty then
But while I swore it my allegiance
They chose leaving, all my friends
And now it's letters, maybe phone calls
That come less and less each year
All addressed with wives and children
To the fool who chose to stay here
And it hurts me to know I'm alone now
And it's worse when I know that I chose it
Don't make the same mistake as me
Don't make the same mistake
And now my friends have all left
Or it's been me gone all along
I guess we all part one day
And drop like leaves into the breeze
And ain't it wild?
Ain't it bitter?
Didn't it carry you from me?
But it's the coping with my fear
That keeps me here
See, once it's gone
Do I regret you?
You can't retrieve it
Can I forget you?
I still believe I might get left here
I might turn 63 still sweeping up the gutters in the street
Or weeding concrete
Wait and see, we'll wait and see
Or, rather, I will
Only me, only me
Don't make the same mistake as me
Don't make the same mistake
Don't make the same mistake as me
Say "Goodbye" and "Be gone" and "Be great" and be done and be free