[Chrome Dreams II version]
Two out of work models and a fashion slave try to dance away the Michelob night
The bartender poured herself another drink, while two drunks were watchin' the fight
The champ went down, then he got up again, then he went out like a light
Fightin' for the people
But his timing wasn't right, the high rollin' people
Takin' limos in the neon light, Las Vegas people
Who came to see a Las Vegas fight, fightin' for the people
There's a man in the window with a big cigar, says everything's for sale
He had a house and a boat and a railroad car, the owner's gotta go to jail
He acquired these things from a life of crime, now he's selling them to make bail
He was rippin' off the people
Sellin' guns to the underground, livin' off the people
Skimmin' the top when there was no one around, tryin' to help the people
Lose their ass for a piece of ground, a patch o' ground people
He was dealing antiques in a hardware store but he sure had a lot to hide
He kept a back room full of the guns of war and a ton of ammunition besides
Well, he walked with a cane, kept a bolt on the door with five pit bulls inside
Just a warning to the people
In case they might try to break in at night, protection from the people
Selling safety in the darkest night, tryin' to help the people
Get the drugs to the street all right, tryin' to help the people
Well, it's hard to say where a man goes wrong, might be here and it might be there
What starts out weak might get too strong, if you can't tell foul from fair
But it's hard to judge from an angry throng of hands stretched up in the air
The vigilante people
Takin' the law into their own hands, the conscientious people. Hey
Crackin' down on the drug lord and his bands, government people. Hey
Confiscatin' all the dealer's land, the patch-of-ground people. Yay, yeah
And then a new Rolls Royce and a company car they were racin' down the street
Each one tryin' to make it to the gate before employees manned the fleet
The trucks full of products for the modern home, were set to roll out into the street
Of ordinary people
Tryin' to make their way to work, the downtown people
Some are saints, and some are jerks, [that's me] everyday people
Stoppin' for a drink on their way to work, alcoholic people
Yay, Yeah, takin' it one day at a time!
Down on the assembly line, they keep puttin' the same things out
The people today, they just ain't buyin', nobody can figure it out
They try like hell to build a quality in, they're workin' hard without a doubt
Ordinary people
But the dollar's what it's all about, Lee Iacocca people
But the customers are walkin' out, the nose-to-the-stone people
Yeah, they look but they just don't buy, the patch o' ground people. Hey, hey, hey
In a dusty town the clock struck high noon, two men stood face to face
One wore black and one wore white, but of fear there wasn't a trace
A hundred and eighty years later two hot rods drag through the very same place
A half a million people
They moved in to pick up the pace, a factory full of people
Makin' parts to go to outer space, a train load of people
They were leavin' for another place, out of town people. Yeah, yeah
Down at the factory, they're puttin' new windows in
The vandals made a mess of things and the homeless just walked right in
Well, they worked here once and they live here now, but they might work here again
The ordinary people
Because they're livin' in a dream, hard workin' people
Just-don't-know-what-it-means-to-give-up people
They're just like they used to be, patch o' ground people. Hey, hey
Out on the railroad track, they're cleanin' ol' number nine
They're scrubbin' the boiler down, she really is lookin' fine. Times'll be different soon, they're gonna bring her back on line
Ordinary people
They're gonna bring the good things back, hard workin' people
They put the business back on track, the everyday people
I got faith in the regular kind, patch o' ground people. Yeah, yeah
[Bluenote Cafe' version]
[August 23, 1988, Lake Compounce Festival Park, Bristol, Connecticut, USA]
In a dusty town the clock struck high noon, two men stood face to face
One wore black and one wore white, but of fear there wasn't a trace
Two hundred years later two hot rods dragged in the very same place
And a half a million people
They moved in to pick up the pace, a factory full of people
Buildin' parts to go to outer space, a trainload of people
They were leavin' for another place, out of town people
Yeah, yeah, yeah
There's a man in the window with a big cigar, says everything's for sale
He had a house and the boat and the railroad car, the owner's gotta go to jail
He acquired these things from a life of crime, now he's selling them to raise his bail
He was rippin' off the people
Sellin' guns to the underground, livin' off the people
Skimmin' the top when there's no one around, tryin' to help the people
Lose their ass for a piece of ground, a patch o' ground people
Yeah, yeah, yeah
He was dealing antiques in a hardware store but he sure had a lot to hide
Kept a back room full of the guns of war and a ton of ammunition besides
Well, he walked with a cane, kept the bolt on the door with five pit bulls inside
Just a warning to the people
They might try to break in at night, protection for all the people
Selling safety in the darkest light, tryin' to help the people
Get the drugs to the street all right. Ordinary people.
Yeah, yeah
Well, it's hard to say where a man goes wrong, might be here and it might be there
What starts out weak might get too strong, if you can't tell foul from fair
But it's hard to judge from an angry throng of fists up in the air
The vigilante people
Takin' the law into their own hands, the conscientious people
Crackin' down on the drug lord's bands, government people
Confiscatin' all the dealer's lands, the patch-of-ground people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Down at the factory, they're puttin' new windows in
The vandals made a mess of things then homeless just walked right in
Well, they worked here once and they live here now, but they might work here again
The everyday people
They been livin' in a nightmare, nose-to-the-stone people
And they don't know how they got there, hard workin' people
And they don't think that you care, patch-of-ground people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Down on the assembly line, they keep puttin' the same things out
But the people today, they just ain't buyin', nobody can figure it out
Well, they try like hell to build a quality in, they're workin' hard without a doubt
The ordinary people
And the customers are walkin' out, hard workin' people
But the dollar's what it's all about, Lee Iacocca people
And they look but they just don't buy, patch-of-ground people.
Hey, yeah
Two out of work models and a fashion slave tried to dance away the Michelob night
The bartender poured herself another drink, but two drunks sat watchin' the fight
Well, the champ went down, then he got up again, then he went out like a light
He was fightin' for the people
But his timing wasn't right, the Las Vegas people
They came to see the Las Vegas fight, high rollin' people
Takin' limos through the neon light, fightin' for the people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah
A new Rolls Royce and a company car went flyin' down the street
Each one tryin' to make it to the gate before employees manned the fleet
Trucks full of products for the modern home, set to roll out into the streets
Of downtown people
Tryin' to make their way to work, everyday people
Some are saints, and some are jerks, hard workin' people
Stoppin' for a drink on the way to work, alcoholic people
Yay, Yeah, takin' it one day, one day at a time
Down on the railroad track, they're cleanin' up number nine
They're scrubbin' the boiler down, she really is lookin' fine.
Things will be different, they're gonna put her back on line
The ordinary people
They're gonna bring the good things back, hard workin' people
They put the business back on track, nose-to-the-stone people
I got faith in the regular kind, patch-of-ground people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.