Ghosts of My Hometown

I was born in the valley where the three rivers meet The Ohio, Monongahela, and The Allegheny And along those river banks sit the faithless factories My father's ghost haunts those halls with every breath I breathe I saw what they took from him and I swear They won't do that to me They won't do that to me (they won't do that to me) I was born in the shadow of the penitentiary Where the poor work and toil believing they are free And the sweet bells of mercy float on the evening breeze Winter comes early and the still waters freeze The gothic cathedral stands with an eye That never blinks (that never blinks) The ghosts of my hometown Follow me around From the West back to the East Into the arms of the South Like a shiver I can't shake Or a high and lonesome sound The ghosts of my hometown I remember the South Side under a blanket of snow (oh, oh) And standing in the cold tossing rocks at your window (oh, oh) And you'd climb down from your room and the city would come alive (oh, oh) We'd take the 10th Street Bridge to Oakland strung out like Christmas lights (oh, oh) But now those days are gone and I'm left haunted By how you died (by how you died) The ghosts of my hometown Follow me around From the West back to the East Into the arms of the South Like a shiver I can't shake Or a high and lonesome sound The ghosts of my hometown I was born in the valley where the three rivers meet And just like those rivers I'm always trying to leave And the spirit of the Iroquois and Shawnee haunt these hills (oh, oh) Like the echo of my father's voice in abandoned still mills (oh, oh) And the ghost of the girl I loved who took too many (oh, oh) Designer pills (designer pills) The ghosts of my hometown Follow me around From the West back to the East Into the arms of the South Like a shiver I can't shake Or a high and lonesome sound The ghosts of my hometown