Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Our Town (revisited)

Herewith a new video of Iris Dement's "Our Town," which I nominate as the anthem for American rural life and its slow decline:


LyricsAnd you know the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye but hold on to your lover
'Cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Good night

Up the street beside that red neon light
That's where I met my baby on one hot summer night
He was the tender and I ordered a beer
It's been forty years and I'm still sitting here

But you know the sun's settin' fast
and just like they say nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye but hold on to your lover
'Cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Good night

It's here I had my babies and I had my first kiss
I've walked down Main Street in the cold morning mist
Over there is where I bought my first car
It turned over once but then it never went far

And I can see the sun settin' fast
And just like they say nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye but hold on to your lover
'Cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Good night

I buried my Mama and I buried my Pa
They sleep up the street beside that pretty brick wall
I bring them flowers about every day
But I just gotta cry when I think what they'd say

If they could see how the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on now and kiss it goodbye but hold on to your lover
'Cause your heart's bound to die
Go on now and say goodbye to our town, to our town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on our town, on our town
Good night

Now I sit on the porch and watch the lightning bugs fly
But I can't see too good, I've got tears in my eyes
I'm leaving tomorrow but I don't wanna go
I love you my town, you'll always live in my soul

But I can see the sun's settin' fast
And just like they say nothing good ever lasts
Well, go on I gotta kiss you goodbye but I'll hold to my lover
'Cause my heart's 'bout to die
Go on now and say goodbye to my town, to my town
Can't you see the sun's settin' down on my town, on my town
Good night, good night

1 Comments:

Blogger Robert Justin Lipkin said...

Thanks Jim. http://www.essentiallycontestedamerica.org/2007/09/26#a1826

9/26/2007 10:51 AM  

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