An outcry
To lost dreams and the 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 its 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