She was walking with lover at night,

Momma didn’t know where she was nearly started a riot,

She called the police to check it out,

Took her boyfriend downtown,

They thought he was a criminal, 

Yeah, thought he was a real hard case,

But she thought, 

Oh what do they know anyway,

In this town.



Was a Friday night football game,

Down at the high school stadium,

She was a cheerleader with her 

Quarterback sneaking out behind the bleachers to play,

Cause they don’t care what people say in this town,

In this town,

In this town.



Nothing ever changes in this town,

The story’s always the same one in this town,

And its thank you lord for keeping us safe,

And its thank you mother for making us brave.



She was a single mother working at a restaurant,

Under protective custody,

And everyday her boy reminds her of what they lost,

By moving away from the city,

And she says I know you miss your friends in LA,

But at least your father is so far away,

From this town,

From this town.



Nothing ever changes in this town,

Oh the story’s always the same one in this town,

And its thank you lord for keeping us safe,

And its thank you mother for making us brave,

For making us brave.



And there’s an old man on the front porch swing,

And he’s always talking to nobody,

But if you ever stop to listen,

You might learn a thing or two,

Yeah, I’m talking to you.

See he once was a young man,

And he was holding a young girl’s hand,

And they were walking down by the lake in about 1948,

And they had a first kiss ,

Oh with the moon shining down,

And they had true love,

Oh it really could be found in this town,

Oh in this town,

Yeah in this town,

Yeah in this town.



Nothing ever changes in this town,

Oh the story’s always the same one in this town,

And its thank you lord for keeping us safe,

And its thank you mother for making us,

Oh for making us brave,

For making us brave.



In this town,

Oh in this town,

That’s just the way we do it in this town,

That’s just the way things go in this town.

Thanks to kpaige@u.washington.edu