Everybody wanna change the world
But nobody ever changed this town
Tell yourself you're gonna rise above it
'Til the blacktop pulls you down
We got blue veins til they hit the knife
And we don't change (who we are)
Who we are
(Can't change who we are, can't change who we are)
We got blue veins 'til they hit the knife
And they bleed red, bleed red
Why can't I be more?
I don't wanna fight my father's wars
But nothing comes easy where I come from
So we sweat it out in the concrete Sun, woah
'Til the colors run
I've seen the story play out before
Old men, they just fade away
And we become what our fathers were
Like soldiers following the orders
Put it on the shoulders of the family name
(Can't change who we are, can't change who we are)
It's who we are
(Can't change who we are, can't change who we are)
We got blue veins 'til they hit the knife
And they bleed red, bleed red
Why can't I be more?
I don't wanna fight my father's wars
But nothing comes easy where I come from
So we sweat it out in the concrete Sun, woah
'Til the colors run
Maybe it's like Axel spins it
You hate it, you hate it, and then one day you miss it
Find yourself coming back to old divisions
While your cinder block dream sleeps with the fishes
Thought it had wings, you thought you could fly
But nobody flies on the south side
You're just born here and then you die
Loyal to the oil in the blacktop sky
Or maybe it's like Joni says it
Nothing is written, boy, nothing is set
There's something brave about staying with it
And making beauty out of all this
But I'm a long way from going the distance
Feels more like dying by inches
The wishes and the misses
The poverty of indifference
Why can't I be more?
I don't wanna fight my father's wars
Nothing comes easy where I come from
So we sweat it out in the concrete Sun, woah
'Til the colors run
'Til the colors run
