I was raised in the ranks, mama, till I was a teen

Every day I heard a radio

Every night I had the same old dream

To sing a song, oh baby

To watch my name in lights, oh yeah

If you wanna see a dream come true

Honey child, you gotta get right down and fight, uh-huh



Well, I sailed cross the ocean blue

Felt so all alone

Many times I thought about goin' right back home

But the joy I found in song gave me the will to carry on



(chorus)

So I say, live your life

The way you want to

Don't let fools lead you astray

Live your dream so you hold on to

All you'll need along the way



I've paid my dues right here in the land of the free

All the time I've learned to sing along

I could not speak and I could barely see

Still all the while I knew where I was at, oh yeah

But the people that believed in me

Oh, I could count'em all, in seconds flat, uh-huh



Well, someday I would be, I knew it all along

A gentleman of leisure, girl, right or wrong

And though my dream has come and gone

There's plenty more where those came from, uh-huh



(repeat chorus 2x)