Just Like Downtown - Carrie Newcomer

I grew up on an island

Somewhere near Chicago

Learned how to talk rough

Just like downtown

You could drive to the lake

And it sure seemed to me

It smelled like fresh water

But it felt like the sea

That’s right it’s so long now

You cannot fight this thing any old how

You can run fast, you can try so hard

But you can’t shake the ache or the lake of

Who you are

There was nothing to do

But to shut up and drive

To the water, down the backroads

To the south and east sides

Some girls got through high school

Some never will

Some walked with a hunger

They never would fill

That’s right it’s so long now

You cannot fight this thing any old how

You can run fast, you can try so hard

But you can’t shake the ache or the lake of

Who you are

You can cough out the city

You can change your old clothes

You can soften your accent

So nobody knows

But whenever I’m honest

Something in me

Still looks for fresh water

That feels like the sea

That’s right it’s so long now

You cannot fight this thing any old how

You can run fast, you can try so hard

But you can’t shake the ache or the lake of

Who you are

I close my eyes

And I can still see

That no one forgets

What it’s like to be

Who it is to be

If you see me inclining when no one is speaking

If you sense that I’m wandering somewhere in my mind

If you listen real close you might hear the whisper

Or see how the sunsets on the lake could shine and shine

That’s right it’s so long now

You cannot fight this thing any old how

You can run fast, you can try so hard

But you can’t shake the ache or the lake of

Who you are

I grew up on an island somewhere near Chicago

Learned how to talk tough just like downtown