Like the ripples from a pebble 
When cast into the water
There's not a life that has not been touched 
By the troubled times of the '80's
He was greyer than I'd remembered
For once I just listened
It wasn't like him to talk defeat
But he was down
He'd worked hard all his life
For his all American wife
And his all American children
In a small American town
He said he was about to lose his house
And he'd already lost his job
And if things kept on gettin' worse
He didn't know how much longer they could hold on.
Said he owed everybody and his brother
And naturally they took it out on one another
He said, you know you'd be surprised
How being out of work can chip away at a marriage 
And the foundation of a home
It's the story of the eighty's 
The sign of the times
Has a nightmare replaced the American dream
Where so often is heard
A discouraging word
Are the clouds as dark as they seem
He said, you know, I'm not lazy
I mean it's not that I haven't tried."
Then he put his head in his hands
And the grown man almost cried
He said, I guess I'm kinda' like a kid on his first date
I don't know what to do with my hands
You know I've always been busy, made a livin' for my family
Now I can't get a job, and I'm a workin' man
He said my wife used to think I could move a mountain
Now I think she'd be happy if I'd just move out
And the kids, well they're growin' so fast
And they all need clothes, now they have to do without
It makes you feel small, you know
Takes away your self respect
Breaks your heart
And hurts your pride
It makes it hard to be a decent husband and daddy
And it eats you up inside
Is it the story of the eighty's 
The sign of the times
Has a nightmare replaced the American dream
Where so often is heard
A discouraging word
Are the clouds as dark as they seem
But what bothered me was
He was half of America
Not just one man tryin' to deal with all the change
Out of work, out of hope, out of luck
And most of all, out of dreams
He's the farmer
The trucker
The teacher
The steelworker
The Protestant
The Catholic
and the Jew
He's the hero of America
He's me
And he's you
Is it the story of the eighty's 
The sign of the times
Has a nightmare replaced the American dream
Where so often is heard
A discouraging word
Are the clouds as dark as they seem