From the corners of the country, from the cities and the farms
With years and years of living, tucked up underneath their arms
They walked away from everything just to see a dream come true
So God bless the boys who make the noise on 16th avenue

With a million dollar spirit and an old flattop guitar
They drive to town with all they own in a hundred dollar car
'Cause one time someone told 'em about a friend of a friend they knew
Who owns, you know, a studio on 16th avenue

Now some were born to money, they never had to say "survive"
And others swing a 9 pound hammer just to stay alive
There's cowboys drunks and Christians mostly white and black and blue
They've all dialed the phone collect to home from 16th avenue

But one night in some empty room where no curtains ever hung
Like a miracle some golden words rolled off of someone's tongue
After years of being nothing they're all looking right at you
And for a while they'll go in style on 16th avenue

It looked so uneventful, so quiet and discreet
But a lot of lives where changed down in that little one way street
'Cause they walked away from everything just to see a dream come true
So God bless the boys who make the noise on 16th avenue
So God bless the boys who make the noise on 16th avenue