The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer

Me and my friends
are like the drums
on "Lust for Life"
We pound it out
on floor toms
Our psalms
are sing-along songs

And this whole town
is like this
Been that way
our whole lives
Just work at the mill
until you die
Work at the mill,
and then you die

We're gonna build something,
this summer
We're gonna build something,
this summer
We'll put it back together
raise up a giant ladder
With love, and trust,
and friends, and hammers
(This summer!)
We're gonna lean
this ladder up
against the water tower
Climb up to the top,
and drink and talk
(This summer!)

Me and my friends are like
"Double-whiskey-coke-no-ice."
We drink along in double time;
might drink too much,
but we feel fine
We're gonna build something,
this summer.
Gonna build something,
this summer.

This summer,
grant us all the power
to drink on top
of water towers,
With love,
and trust, and shows,
all summer
(Get hammered!)
Let this be
my annual reminder
that we can all
be something bigger

I went to your schools,
I did my detention
But the walls are so gray,
I couldn't pay attention
I heard your gospel it
moved me to tears,
But I couldn't find the hate,
and I couldn't find the fear
I met your Savior,
I knelt at his feet,
And he took my ten bucks,
and he went down the street
I tried to believe
all the things that you said,
But my friends that aren't dying
are already dead.

Raise a toast
to St. Joe Strummer
I think he might've been
our only decent teacher
Getting older makes it harder
to remember
we are our only saviors
We're gonna build something,
this summer