Commentary: I want for nothing. I am abundantly blessed in material goods & have ever been, by God's grace. Yet, having lived eighty-one per cent (81%) of my life in economically depressed Genesee County, & ninety-seven per cent (97%) in economically depressed Michigan, I have an affinity for songs that mention places folks say are dying & industries whose best days are long gone. I hear similarities 'twixt their beloved Scotland & my beloved Michigan. That's not all of why I like The Proclaimers, but it plays its part.
"Wait a moment yet,
Have a cigarette,
We can stand out here on the pavement.
There's a young man near
With the same idea
And a half-drunk beer as payment.
"But we turn his offer down,
Give him a light and watch him frown,
As he weaves his way back 'round
Into the crowd.
"Many years ago that was us, I know,
When they said this place was dyin';
But just look now, look all around,
If you squint, you'd swear it was thrivin'.
"Now it's we who are in decline,
Like the old shipyards and mines,
We outlived a time that's long passed away.
"I thought we'd change things,
But we never changed a thing,
We never changed a thing.
"There's a girl,
There's another,
That one looks familiar,
I think I knew her mother.
"Wait a moment yet,
Have a cigarette,
They'll let us stand out here on the pavement.
Just look now,
Look all around,
Now that's what I call entertainment!
"I thought we'd change things,
But we never changed a thing,
We never changed a thing."
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