Hungry Heart

Joey was a man from the other side
Came across the sea for a better life
When he got close they made him change his namePush along a cart through the market place
Keep it in your heart when you're getting spades
But that was so many years agoI lived in many places, I've fallen out of graces
I tried to feed the fire for so longHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayA Nietzsche mustache and a peasant's hat
Five hungry kids in a water flat
Maybe I'll make a little more todayA new world dream and some old school pride
He couldn't make a meet so he took his life
I saw a photograph and made memories in my mindI've fallen out of graces, I've ran so many races
I tried to breathe the fire for so longHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayWell he was on the blacklist in '53
And he talked about the conspiracy
He said the next war is gonna blow us all awayI played in churches and I prayed in bars
A young kid with a sad guitar
To get close I had to go far awayWell I became a drifter
Sent postcards to my sister
And I can hear her smile even when I'm far awayHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayWell I drank with kings and danced with whores
On mountain tops and distant shores
But you made me feel like someone I wished to beI tried to wear my father's clothes
I planted seeds that didn't grow
With a handful of thorns I thought that I was freeWorked in a bank, drove a diesel van
Even Sonny Wortzik had a plan
Do your time and get out of societyHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayNow you're sitting in an office, you've never seen the world
Gonna blame it on the government or a girl
But there's somewhere else you know you'd rather beScratching off the numbers in a liquor store
Dreaming of picking up a '44
Tell me more about your fantasyHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayFrom Spanish Harlem to Ditmas Park
A lonely game of court and spark
I wrote a song, I figured it's the only wayWhile the girls from school all married stiffs
WIth a flat screen and couple kids
And they say a prayer in their own little wayWell a friend of mine became a priest
And we lost another in the Middle East
Well, you know it's dark when atheists start to prayHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayBoxes in the corner neatly stacked
Parts of me, paper and wax
For a headline day to ride in that CadillacAnd when it's over and I've had my fill
They're gonna put my body up on Cypress Hill
Near Houdini for the final disappearing actHey man, where you going
Up town the river's rolling
The sun comes, I'll be on my wayHey man, whatcha doing
All along the road to ruin
You know it's dark when Atheists start to prayFrom the fox holes to the quarter
Got your mojo workin'
Or whatever you believe in, all your voodoo
Well, the river runs deep and the river runs wide