My American Dream

Used to be a one-horse town but the pony went away
Ended up in China 'cause they make it cheaper there, they say
The store fronts all are empty and the factory is dead
And these streets I used to walk on? Now they’re just my bed
And I’m goin' down, down, down
I’m goin' down
Did a couple years of college but I just couldn’t make it stick
Had to come back here and help Mama 'cause Daddy left when she got sick
She worked every day for nothin' until she turned sixty-two
And on the same day that I buried her the bank foreclosed on her house too
That’s my American dream
I’ve been all that I can be
With nothing left to lose at all, I guess I’m free
That’s my American dream, dream, dream
That’s my American dream
Now I stand here at this off-ramp and smile as best I can
With a sign that says «Jesus loves you» but it’s hard to think he gives a damn
When they roll down their windows and put some spare change in my hand
But I’d give it all right back to just be looked at like a man
And I’m goin' down, down, down
I’m goin' down
When it’s cold I try the mission; on nights like this I sleep outside
Under a bridge beside the interstate where I can hear those trucks drive by
And imagine I’m inside one, just rollin' down the road
But I wake up just to realize that this place is now my home
That’s my American dream
I’ve been all that I could be
With nothin' left to lose at all, I guess I’m free
That’s my American dream
It disappeared in front of me
With nothin' left to lose at all, I guess I’m free
It’s my American dream, dream