Country House

Remember that country house we used to own

The one with the busted fence

We'd sit on our porches and greet all the passers by

Not giving more than a glimpse

In that little town off the border of Pittsburgh

We knew every face, every smile, every laugh

Remember the luster of a freshly dampened sidewalk

How the children would purposely Splash

Oh we worked in Señor Gonzales's shop

Preparing the lunch after lunch

Mrs. Petunia would give me a tip

And say "keep the change, don't show your boss"

On my way home, I'd pass Mark and his kids

Playing with a round orange ball

He and his kids have a big house with a sturdy yard

Complete with a bathroom stall

And the street boy is practicing violin

On his way to Carnegie Hall

When a hobo says "hi" to you

Time to go inside for you

That's when you'll get my call

Get my call

I heard on the local news

That Joshua was arrested

For stealing from the Ocean Frontier

Everyone had said that he was up to no good

But no one expected such a sin

Mark said he'd kill himself if his kids grew up to be like that

That's cause' he raised them so well

If he was joking or maybe just bragging

I was not able to tell

And a rock was thrown through my window last night

And it landed near the foot of my couch

And looked out my window

And saw those Mexicans again

Smoking and laughing and peeing on my house

And the street boy is practicing violin

On his way to Carnegie Hall

When a hobo says "hi" to you

Time to go inside for you

That's when you'll get my call

Get my call

Oh, the good man is rich

And the bad man is poor

When we play this game

And oh, the school bus is filled

With a number of close

Who live just the same

Mr. Gonzales came into work one day

He said that he was offered a job

That's when I met Mrs. Self-Absorbed no one

Who took the job of my new boss

I couldn't afford to live all by myself

So I moved in with Sally and Ken

They seemed real nice but after a while

It seemed like my old life again

Forty years later, I started a business

Selling small trinkets to Spain

I live in Manhattan, I own my apartment

And I have a little queen named Lorraine

I got a phone call last week

Got invited to a funeral

But I didn't remember who died

It turns out that Mark's son

Had stolen a Mercedes

And Mark had agreed what he'd promised to do

And he was the last man in my hometown

So the memory left Arrup with him

And the street boy is practicing violin

On his way to Carnegie Hall

When a hobo says "hi" to you

Time to go inside for you

That's when you'll get my call

Get my call