Cuyahoga

by Michael Stipe

Let's put our heads together
And start a new country up
Our father's father's father tried
Erased the parts he didn't like
Let's try to fill it in
Bank the quarry river, swim
We knee-skinned it, you and me
We knee-skinned that river red

This is where we walked
This is where we swam
Take a picture here
Take a souvenir

This land is the land of ours
This river runs red over it
We knee-skinned it, you and me
We knee-skinned that river red
And we gathered up our friends
Bank the quarry river, swim
We knee-skinned it you and me
Underneath the river bed

This is where we walked
This is where we swam
Take a picture here
Take a souvenir

Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone

Let's put our heads together
And start a new country up
Up underneath the river bed
We'll burn the river down

This is where they walked, swam
Hunted, danced, and sang
Take a picture here
Take a souvenir

Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone

Rewrite the book and rule the pages
Saving face, secured in faith
Bury, burn the waste behind you

This land is the land of ours
This river runs red over it
We are not your allies
We cannot defend

My Town

by Michael Stanley

This old town's been home long as I remember
This town's going to be here long after I'm gone
East side, West side, give up, or surrender
Been down, but I still rock on

And this town is my town
Alright?
Love or hate it, it don't matter
'Cause I'm going to stand and fight
This town is my town
She's got her ups and downs
But love or hate it, it don't matter
'Cause this is my town

This old town is where I learned about loving
this old town is where I learned to hate
This town has done its share of shoving
This town taught me that it's never too late

Midwest Midnight

by Michael Stanley

With thirteen lovers I hid beneath the covers
Got staples in my hands for my time
With the radio low so the folks don't know
I proceed with my passionate crime

Though somewhat obtuse, I've been told this abuse
Will more than likely make me go blind
But with a heart that's aching, it's a risk worth taking
'Cause true love, they say, is so hard to find

Why can't she see what she's doing to me
If that bandstand girl only was here
And I'm living the dream, getting lost on the screen
Doing Presley in front of the mirror

Hanging around, getting high on the sounds
Of the ladies and electric guitars
Cross a double yellow line to who knows where
With six sets of glory a night in some bar

Midwest midnight
Ten thousand watts of holy light
From my radio so clear
Bodies glistening
Everybody's listening
As the man plays all the hits that you want to hear

With a will to believe, and my songs on my sleeve
If only I'd known from the start
Such a sensitive toy, for a suburban boy
Who believed he was suffering for art

Then something went wrong, and he watched as his songs
Met a slow death of silence, but worse
He was taken to task, by some critic who asked
'Do you write the words or lyrics first?'

I hear them calling
'Boy, you should be grateful
'To get your foot inside the door
'You know there's thousands out there
'Who would take your place
'This attitude of yours, my son,
'It lacks the due respect
'You bite the hand that feeds you
'Even if you're never fed'

Chasing the fame keeps them all in the game
But money's still the way they keep score
And nobody told you that you would get older
Strung out like some avenue whore

Waiting release, getting shot through the grease
Some L.A. madonna's maligned
And New York's calling just to see if you've heard
About the great English band they just signed

Take me back to midwest midnight
Ten thousand watts of holy light
From my radio so clear
Bodies glistening
Is anybody listening?
Does the man still play all the hits that you want to hear?

Burn On

by Randy Newman

There's a red moon rising
On the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

There's an oil barge winding
Down the Cuyahoga River
Rolling into Cleveland to the lake

Cleveland, city of light, city of magic
Cleveland, city of light, you're calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
'Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smoking through my dreams

Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on

Now the Lord can make you tumble
And the Lord can make you turn
And the Lord can make you overflow
But the Lord can't make you burn

Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on

My City Was Gone

by Chrissie Hynde

I went back to Ohio
But my city was gone
There was no train station
There was no downtown
South Howard had disappeared
All my favorite places
My city had been pulled down
Reduced to parking spaces
Way to go, Ohio

I went back to Ohio
But my family was gone
I stood on the back porch
There was nobody home
I was stunned and amazed
My childhood memories
Slowly swirled past
Like the wind through the trees
Way to go, Ohio

I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
The farms of Ohio
Had been replaced by shopping malls
And muzak filled the air
From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls
Way to go, Ohio