Альбом Billy Joel

[Instrumental]

Oo Hoo, oh oh...

Anthony works in the grocery store
Saving his pennies for someday.
Momma Leoni left a note on the door.
She said, "Sonny, move out to the country.
Aw, but working too hard can give you a heart attack, ack, ack, ack, ack, ack;
You oughtta know by now.
Who need a house out in Hackensack?
Is that all you get for your money?
And it seems such a waste of time.
If that's what it's all about...
Momma, if that's moving up, than I'm moving out.

Mmm I'm movin out
mm hmm, Oo Hoo...

Seargeant O'Leary is walking the beat.
At night he becomes a bartender.
He works at Mr. Cacciatorre's down on Sullivant Street,
Across from the medical center,
And he's trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac, lac, lac, lac lac,lac;
You oughtta know by now,
If he can't drive with a broken back,
At least he can polish the fenders.
And it seems such a waste of time,
If that's what it's all about...
Momma, if that's moving up, than I'm moving out.

Oo I'm movin out, Oh oh, Oo hoo...

You should never argue with a crazy, ma, ma, ma, ma man;
You oughtta know by now.
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime
Is that all you get for your money?
And if thats what you have in mind
yeah if thats what you're all about..
Good luck moving up, cause I'm moving out.

Oo I'm movin out
mmhmm Oo hoo uh-huh mmhmm...

I'm movin' out!

[Instrumental]

Don't go changing, to try and please me,
You never let me down before,
Mm mm mm mm mm
Don't imagine, you're too familiar,
And I don't see you anymore.

I would not leave you in times of trouble,
We never could have come this far.
Mm mm mm mm
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times,
I'll take you just the way you are.

Don't go trying some new fashion,
Don't change the color of your hair.
Mm mm mm mm mm
You always have my unspoken passion,
Although I might not seem to care.

I don't want clever, conversation.
I never want to work that hard.
Mm mm mm mm mm
I just want someone, that I can talk to,
I want you just the way you are.

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew,
What will it take ’til you believe in me,
The way that I believe in you?

I said I love you, that's forever,
And this I promise from the heart,
Mm mm mm mm mm
I couldn't love you any better,
I love you just the way you are. Right

I don't want clever, conversation.
I never want to work that hard.
Mm mm mm mm mm
I just want someone, that I can talk to,
I want you just the way you are.

Whoa oh oh oh
For the longest time
Whoa oh oh
For the longest...

If you said good-bye to me tonight
There would still be music left to write
What else could I do?
I'm so inspired by you
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Once I thought my innocence was gone
Now I know that happiness goes on
That's where you found me
When you put you're arms around me
I haven't been there for the longest time

Whoa oh oh oh
For the longest time
Whoa oh oh
For the longest time

I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall
And the greatest miracle of all
Is how I need you
And how you needed me too
That hasn't happened for the longest time

Maybe this won't last very long
But you feel so right
And I could be wrong
Maybe I've been hoping too hard
But I've gone this far
And it's more than I hoped for

Who knows how much further we'll go on?
Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone
I'll take my chances
I forgot how nice romance is
I haven't been there for the longest time

I had second thoughts at the start
I said to myself - "Hold onto your heart"
Now I know the woman that you are
You're wonderful so far
And it's more than I hoped for

I don't care what consequence it brings
I have been a fool for lesser things
I want you so bad
I think you ought to know that
I intend to hold you for the longest time

Whoa oh oh oh
For the longest time
Whoa oh oh
For the longest time
Whoa oh oh
For the longest time (Repeat and fade)

Oooh, Oooh, uptown girl,
She's been living in her uptown world
I bet she never had a backstreet guy
I bet her momma never told her why

I'm gonna try for an uptown girl
She's been living in her white bred world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now she's looking for a downtown man
That's what I am

And when she knows what
She wants from her time
And when she wakes up
And makes up her mind

She'll see I'm not so tough
Just because
I'm in love with an uptown girl
You know I've seen her in her uptown world
She's getting tired of her high class toys
And all her presents from her uptown boys
She's got a choice

Oooh, Oooh

Uptown girl
You know I can't afford to buy her pearls
But maybe someday when my ship comes in
She'll understand what kind of guy I've been
And then I'll win

And when she's walking
She's looking so fine
And when she's talking
She'll say that she's mine

She'll say I'm not so tough
Just because
I'm in love
With an uptown girl
She's been living in her white bred world
As long as anyone with hot blood can
And now she's looking for a downtown man
That's what I am

Oooh, Oooh

Uptown girl
She's my uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl
(fading)
You know I'm in love
With an uptown girl
My uptown girl

Didn't I say
I wasn't ready for a romance
Didn't we promise
We would only be friends

And so we danced
Though it was only a slow dance
I started breaking my promises
Right there and then

Didn't I swear
There would be no complications
Didn't you want
Someone who's seen it all before

Now that you're here
It's not the same situation
Suddenly I don't remember the rules anymore

This night is mine
It's only you and I
Tomorrow
Is a long time away
This night can last forever

I've been around
Someone like me should know better
Falling in love
Would be the worst thing I could do

Didn't I say
I needed time to forget her
Aren't you running from someone
Who's not over you

How many nights
Have I been lonely without you
I tell myself
How much I really don't care

How many nights
Have I been thinking about you
Wanting to hold you
But knowing you would not be there

This night
You're mine
It's only you and I
I'll tell you
To forget yesterday
This night we are together

This night
Is mine
It's only you and I
Tomorrow
Is such a long time away
This night can last forever

Tomorrow
Is such a long time away
This night can last forever

They say that these are not the best of times
But they’re the only times I’ve ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own
Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize

For we are always what our situations hand us
It’s either sadness or euphoria

So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise
And realize that nothing’s ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same
Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
A reason coexists with our insanity

And though we choose between reality and madness
It’s either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don’t fulfill each other’s fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities

It’s either sadness or euphoria

Oh…!

[Instrumental]

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenberg’s, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana Goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge on the River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball
Starkweather Homicide, Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a No-Go

U-2, Synghman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs Invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston Beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician Sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, Punk-Rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, Heavy Metal, Suicide
Foreign Debts, Homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola Wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire,
It was always burnin',
Since the world's been turnin'
We didn't start the fire,
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't...

She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is
But I know that I can't live without her
She's got a way of pleasin'
I don't know why it is
But there doesn't have to be a reason anyway

She's got a smile that heals me
I don't know why it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She's got a way of talkin'
I don't know why it is
But it lifts me up when we are walkin' anywhere

She comes to me when I'm feelin' down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me and I get turned around

She's got a way of showin'
How I make her feel
And I find the strength to keep on goin'
she'sgot a light around her
And everywhere she goes
A million dreams of love surround her everywhere

She comes to me when I'm feelin' down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me
I get turned around

She's got a smile that heals me
I don't know what it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is
But I know that I can't live without her anyway

Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin, some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on

CHORUS
Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover
See the stranger in yourself?
Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You've done it, why can't someone else?
You should know by now,
You've been there yourself

Once I used to believe I was such a great romancer
Then I came home to a woman
That I could not recognize
When I pressed her for a reason,
She refused to even answer
It was then I felt the stranger
Kick me right between the eyes

REPEAT CHORUS

You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions,
You will never quench the fire
You'll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along

[Instrumental]

[Instrumental]

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man

Give a moment or two to the angry young man
With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand
He's been stabbed in the back he's been misunderstood
It's a comfort to know his intentions are good
And he sits in his room with a lock on the door
With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor
And he likes to be known as the angry young man

I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
I had my pointless point of view
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks
And his honor is pure and his courage is well
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man

Yes there's always a place for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
And likes to be known as the angry young man

Well, you went uptown riding in your limousine
With your fine Park Avenue clothes.
You had the Dom Perignon in your hand
And a spoon up your nose.
When you wake up in the morning with you head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see,
Go on and cry in your coffee,
But don't come bitching to me.

Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you?
You had to open up your mouth.
You had to be a big shot, didn't you?
All your friends were so knocked out.
You had to have the last word last night.
You know what everything's about.
You had to have the white hot spot light.
You had to be a big shot last night.

They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people that you knew at Elaine's.
And the story of your latest success,
Kept them so entertained.
But now you just don't remember all the things you said
And you're not sure that you wanna know.
I'll give you one hint, honey,
You sure did put on a show.

Yes, yes, you had to be a big shot, didn't you?
You had to prove it to the crowd.
You had to be a big shot, didn't you?
All your friends were so knocked out.
You had to have the last word last night,
You're so much fun to be around.
You had to have the front page, bold type.
You had to be a big shot last night.

Well, it's no big sin to stick your two cents in
If you know when to leave it alone.
But you went over the line,
You couldn't see it was time to go home.

No, no, no, no, you had to be a big shot, didn't you?
You had to open up your mouth.
You had to be a big shot, didn't you?
All your friends were so knocked out.
You had to have the last word last night.
You're so much fun to be around.
You had to have the white hot spot light.
You had to be a big shot last night.

Why can't I lay low? Why can't I say what I mean?
Why don't I stay home and get myself into some boring routine?
Why can't I calm down? Why is it always a fight?
I can't get unwound. Why do I throw myself into the night?

I'm on the outside. I don't fit into a groove.
Now, I ain't a bad guy, so tell me what am i trying to prove?
Why can't I cool out? Why don't I button my lip?
Why do I lash out? Why is it I always shoot from the hip?

I cruise from Houston to Canal Street, a misfit and a rebel.
I see the winos talking to themselves, and I can understand.
Why is it everytime I go out I always seem to get in trouble?
I guess I made an impression on somebody north of Hester and South of Grand.

And so, in my small way, I'm a big man on Mulberry Street.
I don't mean always, only at night when I'm light on my feet.
What else have I got that I'd be trying to hide?
Maybe a blind spot I haven't seen from the sensitive side?

But you know, in my own heart I'm a big man on Mulberry Street.
I play the whole part; I leave a big tip with every reciept.
I'm so romantic; I'm such a passionate man.
Sometimes I panic...what if nobody finds out who I am?

Saturday night and you're still hangin' around
You're tired of livin' in your one horse town
You'd like to find a little hole in the ground
For a while...

So you go to the village in your tie-dye jeans
And you stare at the junkies and the closet queens
It's like some pornographic magazine
And you smile...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah

Your sister's gone out, she's on a date
And you just sit at home and masturbate
Your phone is gonna ring soon, but you just can't wait
For that call...

So you stand on the corner in your new English clothes
And you look so polished from your hair down to your toes
But still your fingers gonna pick your nose
After all...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah

So you decide to take a holiday
You got your tape deck and your brand new Chevrolet
Ah but there's no place to go anyway
And what for...

You've got everything but nothing's cool,
They've just found your father in the swimming pool
And you guess you won't be going back to school
Anymore...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah

So you play your albums and you smoke your pot
And you meet your girlfriend in the parking lot
Oh, but still you're aching for the things you haven't got
What went wrong...

And if you can't understand why your world is so dead
And why you've got to keep in style and feed your head
Well, you're twenty-one and still your mother makes your bed
and that's too long...

But Captain Jack will get you high tonight
And take you to your special island
Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push 'n' you'll be smilin'
La da da, Oh yeah, yeah
Yeah, Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Yeah, Captain Jack will get you by tonight

Some people stay far away from the door
If there's a chance of it opening up
They hear a voice in the hall outside
And hope that it just passes by
Some people live with the fear of a touch
And the anger of having been a fool
They will not listen to anyone
So nobody tells them a lie

I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of somebody else
Someone who hurt you
But I'm not above making up all the love
You've been denying you can ever feel
I'm not above doing anything
To restore your faith, if I can

Some people see through the eyes of the old
Before they ever get a look at the young
I'm only willing to hear you cry
Because I am an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am

Some people say they will never believe
Another promise they hear in the dark
Because they only remember too well
They heard somebody tell them before
Some people sleep all alone every night
Instead of taking a lover to bed
Some people find that's easier
To hate than to wait anymore

I know you don't wanna hear what I say
I know you're gonna keep turning away
But I've been there and if I can survive
I can keep you alive
I'm not above going through it again
I'm not above being cool for a while
If you're cruel to me, I'll understand

Some people run from a possible fight
Some people figure they can never win
And although this is a fight I can lose
The accused is an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am an innocent man

You know you'll only hurt yourself out of spite
I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight
That's your decision
But I'm not below anybody I know
If there's a chance of resurrecting a love
I'm not above going back to the start
To find out where the heartache began

Some people hope for a miracle cure
Some people just accept the world as it is
I'm not willing to lay down and die
Because I am an innocent man

I am an innocent man
Oh yes I am an innocent man
Ohhhhooh

Ohhhhooh

You have to learn to pace yourself
(Pressure)
You're just like everybody else
(Pressure)

You've only had to run so far, so good
But you will come to a place where
The only thing you feel are loaded guns in your face
And you'll have to deal with the pressure

You used to call me paranoid
(Pressure)
But even you cannot avoid
(Pressure)

You turn the tap-dance into your crusade
Now here you are with your faith
And your Peter Pan advice
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle the pressure

All grown up and no place to go
Psych one, psych two
What do you know?
All your life is Channel 13
Sesame Street
What does it mean?

I'll tell you what it means
Pressure!

Don't ask for help, you're all alone
(Pressure)
You'll have to answer to your own
(Pressure)

I'm sure you have some cosmic rationale
Now here you are, in the ninth
Two men out and three men on.
Nowhere to look, but inside
Where we all respond to pressure

Pressure

All your life is Time Magazine
I read it too.
What does it mean?

PRESSURE!

I'm sure you have some cosmic rationale
But here you are with your faith
And your Peter Pan advice
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle pressure

The pressure
Pressure
1, 2, 3, 4 Pressure!!

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of the motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

[Instrumental]

Well I'm shameless
When it comes to loving you
I'd do anything you want me to
I'd do anything at all

And I'm standin
Here for all the world to see
There ain't that much left of me
That has very far to fall

You know I'm not a man who's ever been
Insecure about the world I've been livin in
I don't break easy
I have my pride
But if you need to be satisfied

I'm shameless
Baby I don't have a prayer
Anytime I see you standing there
I go down upon my knees

And I'm changin
Swore I'd never compromise
But you convinced me otherwise
I'll do anything you please

You see in all my life
I've never found
What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew
But I can't walk away from you

I have never let anything have this much control over me
I worked too hard to call my life my own
I made myself a world, and it worked so perfectly
But it's your world now, I can't refuse
I've never had so much to lose

Well I'm shameless...

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong
To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong
I never lost anything I ever missed
But I've never been in love like this
It's out of my hands

I'm shameless
I don't have the power now
But I don't want it anyhow
So I've got to let it go

I'm shameless
Shameless as a man should be
You could make a total fool of me
I just wanted you to know

I am shameless
Shameless...

James... we were always friends,
From our childhood days
And we made our plans,
And we had to go our seperate ways.
I went on the road
You pursued an education.

James... do you like your life,
Can you find release,
And will you ever change
Will you ever write your masterpiece.
Are you still in school
Living up to expectations... James...

You were so relied upon, everybody knows how hard you tried
Hey... just look at what a job you've done,
Carrying the weight of family pride.
James... you've been well behaved,
You've been working so hard
But will you always stay
Someone else's dream of who you are.
Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody... James.

I went on the road
You pursued an education... James...
How you gonna know for sure-everything was so well organized.
Hey...now everything is so secure,
and everybody else is satisfied.

James... do you like your life,
Can you find release
And will you ever change,
When will you write your masterpiece.
Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody... James...

In the middle of the night(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(i go walking in my sleep)
From the mountains of faith(moutains of faith)
To the river so deep(river so deep)
I must be looking for something(looking for something)
Something sacred I lost(sacred i lo-o-ost)
But the river is wide(river is wide)
And it's too hard to cross(too hard to cross)

Even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I've been looking for

In the middle of the night(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(i go walking in my sleep)
Through the valley of fear(valley of fear)
To a river so deep(river so deep)
I've been searching for something(searching for something)
Taken out of my soul(taken out of my so-o-oul)
Something I'd never lose(never lose)
Something somebody stole(something somebody stole)

I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for

In the middle of the night(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(I go walking in my sleep)
Through the jungle of doubt(jungle of doubt)
To the river so deep(river so deep)
I know I'm searching for something(searching for something)
Something so undefined(so undefined)
That it can only be seen(only be seen)
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

I'm not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is running to the promise land

In the middle of the night(middle of the night)
I go walking in my sleep(i go walking in my sleep)
Through the desert of truth(desert of truth)
To the river so deep(river so deep)
We all end in the ocean(end in the ocean)
We all start in the streams(start in the streams)
We're all carried along(carried along)
By the river of dreams(river of dreams)
In the middle of the night

(repeat: I go walking in the middle of the...)
Sam and Ree

If it seems like I've been lost
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known
Me much better
'Cause my past is somethin that never
Got in my way
Oh no

Still I would not be here now
If i never had the hunger
And I'm not ashamed to say
The wild boys were my friends
Oh
'Cause I never felt the desire
'Till their music set me on fire
And then I was saved, yeah
That's why I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

We wore old matador boots
Only Flagg Brothers had them with a Cuban heel
Iridescent socks with the same color shirt
And a tight pair of chinos
Oh
I put on my shark skin jacket
You know the kind with the velvet collar
And ditty-bop shades
Oh yeah
I took a fresh pack of Luckies
And a mint called Sen-Sen
My old man's Trojans
And his Old Spice aftershave
Oh
Combed my hair in a pompadour
Like the rest of the Romeos wore
A permanent wave
Yeah

We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

You can get just so much
From a good thing
You can linger too long
In your dreams
Say goodbye to the
Oldies but goodies
'Cause the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

Learned stickball as a formal education
Lost a lot of fights
But it taught me how to lose OK
Oh
I heard about sex
But not enough
I found you could dance
And still look tough anyway
Oh yes I did
I found out a man ain't just being macho
Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food
Drank a lot of take home pay
I thought I was the Duke Of Earl
When I made it with a red-haired girl
In a Chevrolet
Oh yeah
We were keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith

You know the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems

I told you my reasons
For the whole revival
Now I'm going outside to have
An ice cold beer in the shade
Oh
I'm going to listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive
When the rock 'n roll plays
Yeah
When the memory stays
Yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith
I'm keeping the faith
Yes I am

Come out, Virginia. Don't let me wait.
You Catholic girls start much too late,
Oh, but sooner or later, it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one.

Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray.
They built you a temple and locked you away,
Oh, but they never told you the price that you pay
For things that you might have done.
Only the good die young.
That's what I said
Only the good, die young
Only the good die young

You might've heard I run with a dangerous crowd.
We ain't too pretty. We ain't too proud.
We might be laughing a bit too loud,
Oh, but that never hurt no one.

So come on, Virginia, show me a sign,
Send up a signal. I'll throw you a line.
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun,
Darlin' only the good die young
Whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo
I tell ya, only the good die young
Only the good die young

You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation.
You got a brand new soul
Mmmmm, and a cross of gold,

But, Virginia, they didn't give you quite enough information.
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary.
Oh oh ooh

They say there's a heaven for those who will wait.
Some say it's better but I say it ain't.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
The sinners are much more fun,
Ya know that only the good die young
Ho ho ho baby
I tell ya, only the good die young
Only the good die young

You say your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation.
Ohh,she never cared for me,
Did she ever say a prayer for me?
Oh oh ohh

Come out, come out, come out Virginia Don't let me wait.
You Catholic girls start much too late,
But sooner or later, it comes down to fate.
I might as well be the one
Ya know that only the good die young
Tell ya baby
Ya know that only the good die young
Only the good die young
Only the good
Only the good die young
Whoo whoo whoo whoo whooo....

Now we take our time, so nonchalant,
And spend our nights so bon vivant.
We dress our days in silken robes,
The money comes, the money goes,
We know it's all a passing phase.

We light our lamps for atmosphere,
And hang our hopes on chandeliers.
We're going wrong, we're gaining weight,
We're sleeping long and far too late.
And so it's time to change our ways...
But I've loved these days.

Now as we indulge in things refined,
We hide our hearts from harder times.
A string of pearls, a foreign car,
Oh, we can only go so far
On caviar and Cabernet.

We drown our doubts in dry champagne,
And soothe our souls with fine cocaine.
I don't know why I even care,
We get so high and get nowhere.
We'll have to change our jaded ways...
But I've loved these days.

So before we end, and then begin,
We'll drink a toast to how it's been-
A few more hours to be complete,
A few more nights on satin sheets,
A few more times that I can say...
I've loved these days.

[Instrumental]