The wind was blowing east last night Dreamed it wrapped me in a melody and held me tight And all the notes that old hurricane picker played Were secret memories in my head from faraway Out beyond the badlands Way across the flatlands To the footnote of our nation That I was born and raised in though it seems so long ago Raise a glass tonight tonight to absent friends Wish I was bulletproof these days like back then Laughing off the risks now that I don’t take Ignoring compromises that we all make Ran off to the west left my caution to the wind Knew that when I left I wouldn’t be coming back again Would I have done things differently? If I’d have grown up as they intended me to be so long ago? What if I’d have stayed? What if I'd done what they say? And not obeyed the dreams in my imagination What if I’d have stayed? What if I’d have stayed? And been weighed down with all those hometown expectations What if I’d have stayed? Looking back now at that screwed up kid Who never took the same road that the rest of them did Would I have quit high school, married at 21 And maybe worked the same job that my daddy done Setting up now in the corner of a bar With a beat up leather jacket and a Japanese guitar Raging fires still burning bright I follow, hearing voices in the night from faraway What if I’d have stayed? What if I'd done what they say? And not obeyed the dreams in my imagination What if I’d have stayed? What if I’d have stayed? And been weighed down with all those hometown expectations What if I’d have stayed? From the mountainside of dreams I wake up In a cold, cold sweat See myself in the mirror Twisted, wrapped up in regret Silhouette of someone just like me day after day Making reel-to-reel cassettes The one that never got away What if I’d have stayed? What if I'd done what they say? And not obeyed the dreams in my imagination What if I’d have stayed? What if I’d have stayed? And been weighed down with all those hometown expectations What if I’d have stayed?

Tobacco clouds drifted across the sun Waited for clouds to come Hanging out at the beach Hit repeat there’s never nothing new Like a movie preview For a life that was still out of reach I had my hair combed just right Under the spotlight Full of big time dreams Knew nothing ever happened here Folks disappear Wanted to get away clean But my town was mean At 19 it could chew you up and spit you out Only got one shot Or you went without Out of school found ourselves out of work On stage in thrift store shirts Felt like our best days had gone Opportunities don’t ever appear You could be Hendrix here No one would notice your songs So I told my band we’re packing up We’re gonna try our luck Not stop ‘til our ambitions come true You hear the city call We’re gonna do it all Ain’t got nothing to lose Drove out to the speedway track Ghosts of engines they shut off the lights Just fade away Or burn out so bright So long baby Give you my best regards Thrown and missed so here’s a goodbye kiss I’ve laid my bets, I’ve showing you all my cards Come morning I’ll be nothing but a vanishing cloud on the boulevard I’ll have rolled the dice, I’ll be out of sight on the boulevard You always told me that I never talked right wasn’t too clever But tonight I’m gonna take that ride across the river There’s a million reasons why I’ll end up a failure At least I’ll burn out, not fade away like if I stay here We’ve all questions but if we don’t take chances We’ll be long dead honey before we get the answers Hey mama look at me - a thief won’t break your heart But they’ll treat you like the guys who rule the record charts Oh yeah Take a look at me now But you’ve already know You made up your mind I should turn on a dime You’re gonna say you hate to say you told you so but when I go just Wait ‘til the night comes down I’m gonna hit the town You’re working 9 to 5 and I’ll be coming back to life Hit the city, I found out where it’s at Inside a cold water loft above a laundromat On one meal a day never no money in my pocket I guess living like that is about how much you want it But the gigs - oh man, we used to touch the sky College dropouts just learning to fly It’s a long shot, but it’s all I ever got So stay true, not gonna stop, so here’s looking at you And won’t you Take a look at me now But you’ve already know It’s never enough The wheels have come off You’re gonna say you hate to say you told you so but when I go just Wait ‘til the night comes down I’m gonna rule the town You’re working 9 to 5 and I’ll be coming back to life Oh I’ve seen them They’ve still got their tuxedos pressed But they don’t need ‘em Clubs downtown are like the Marie Celeste That’s the - that’s the thing about dreams They just chew you up all the time Cigarettes and amphetamines Until you find You’re with the drunks and the hookers And the pimps and the pushers And one night was all it took us To make up our mind Oh I’ve seen them Who came here looking for the Rolling Stones Wound up pawning guitars And never even made it home But you carry a piece of home round with you Guess they never really understand You’ll never be alone in a Rock and Roll band Fall in love and find You’re with the drunks and the hookers And the pimps and the pushers And one night was all it took us To make up our mind So long baby Give you my best regards Thrown and missed so here’s a goodbye kiss I’ve laid my bets, I’ve showing you all my cards Come morning I’ll be nothing but a vanishing cloud on the boulevard I’ll have rolled the dice, I’ll be out of sight on the boulevard

You’ve only got 5 minutes Said the white-coated orderly in the vestibule Don’t take it too badly It’s just nursing house rules If the old man gets to coughing Hit that switch upon the wall I guess I’ve got to tell you He might not recognise you at all Brought flowers for the room Showed him framed prints of his ex-wife But he just looked right through them With a faraway look in his eyes The nurse come in apologising Hooked his arm up to a line We left there all well aware That goodbye really meant goodbye this time. He used to walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline Must have felt so alive when the wind blew, just riding his luck They always told him son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine When you’re so close to heaven Might as well look up I reached for a cigarette In the distance sunlight glittered on the tide Realised my lighter Was on the table by the bedside I crept through the door That’s when he opened up his eyes Said I guess I’m ready I guess they’re fixing me to die Showed me a photograph Dated 1931 A group of guys in monochrome A half-built Empire State with them sat on Said half a mile above the street It’s like you’ve left the earth behind somehow It’s like I’ve met the angels Saint Peter ain’t got nothing on me now In dreams I walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline Feel so alive when the wind blows, just riding my luck They always told me son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine When you’re so close to heaven Might as well look up Told me kid forget the signs Gimme a drag on that cigarette Dream myself as Icarus With Lazarus - I ain’t got no truck You’d tumble just like Lucifer Back then there were no safety nets And if you looked down I swear you’d see the devil looking up When he spoke his breath got quicker And a shine come to his eye Feel like I’m halfway on the ladder now I’ll climb the scaffold one more time Guess it won’t be long They’re lining up outside the door Ain’t nothing to be scared of I’ve been higher up than this before Tomorrow I’ll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline I’ll feel so alive when the wind blows, just riding my luck They always told me son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine When you’re so close to heaven Might as well look up Tomorrow I’ll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline I’ll feel so alive when the wind blows, just riding my luck They always told me son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine When you’re so close to heaven Might as well look up

Oh the mighty Mississippi, gonna run and run Yeah the mighty Mississippi, gonna run and run Oh I’m going over Jordan, chase the warmth of other suns I walked barefoot to the station, dodge the boss man’s Tommy gun I walked barefoot to the station, dodge the boss man’s Tommy gun Oh and I’m going over Jordan, chase the warmth of other suns Oh play it for me one time (Solo) Oh if I make Chicago – hope Chicago treats me kind I will carry round a piece of everything I left behind Oh here I can’t do nothing, just gon’ come undone Yeah, here I can’t do nothing, just gon’ come undone Oh and I’m going down over Jordan, chase the warmth of other suns This ain’t no land of milk and honey, when I ain’t got none Oh it’s no land of milk and honey, when I ain’t got none I’m going down over Jordan, chase the warmth of other suns