Small Town On The River - Bill Morrisey

    They used to come to town from the naval base
    looking for a stiff drink and a pretty face
    hang around the whorehouses all night long
    Some were drifters and some were bums
    some just waited for the war to come
    out behind the factory with a bottle and a factory girl
    in that small town on the river
    just small town on the river

    That December war broke out, many a woman lost her man
    some wrote from overseas, some didn't
    and their women didn't understand
    And the whores left for the harbor towns where the business was still good
    and the factory girls put in double shifts
    worked as much time as they could
    in that small town on the river
    just small town on the river

    Well, some men came home aces and some were carried hone
    all of them were heroes,
    no man was left alone
    Some took jobs, some went to school, some found they'd fathered kids
    most men tried but could not forget
    and some wound up on the skids
    in that small town on the river
    just small town on the river

    Thirty years later the town remains the same
    one mill burnt down another one was built
    the paychecks now come from a different name
    And at the Eagles and the Legion halls no one seems to age
    with the same jokes told and the TV on
    the paper open to the sports page
    In the small town on the river
    just a small town on the river

    And I was talking with the bartender last night at the P.A.C*
    a navy man from World War Two
    smart dresser though he don't have to be
    And over a double bourbon he said, "I'll tell you man to man,
    this town died thirty years ago, son,
    get out while you can.
    it's just a small town on the river
    nothing but a small town on the river
    nothing but a small town on the river."

    *Polish American Club
    Disk

    Marco Giunco
    Work Basket Music Words