Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
In '65 tension was running high at my high school
There was a lot of fights between the black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come to my hometown
My hometown
My hometown
My hometown
Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
Talking about getting out
Packing up our bags maybe heading south
I'm thirty-five we got a boy of our own now
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around
This is your hometown
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
In '65 tension was running high at my high school
There was a lot of fights between the black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come to my hometown
My hometown
My hometown
My hometown
Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
Talking about getting out
Packing up our bags maybe heading south
I'm thirty-five we got a boy of our own now
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around
This is your hometown
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Before this things were good. Whole towns were in employment often based around one industry, coal, ships, steel, etc. Life was good. Kids who grew up in that era naturally took this for granted as their right. This is the hometown his Dad shows him round with pride. Later, Bruce having documented some of the social changes, racial tensions, factory closures, shop closures following on, dereliction, shows his own boy round. It can be Freehold, Asbury Park, Newcastle, England, it's about an era as much as a place.
It's one of Bruce's least romantic songs it just describes what happened to lot's of families including his own sister whose husband actually went through all this. It was what was happening to a lot of us back then. He just tells it like it was.
YMCA on Throckmorton Street in Freehold and I think it cost me a dollar each night. lol The mayor of Freehold played in the other band when they had the battle of the bands.
However, through the years, crime found its way to parts of Freehold and slowly the town became barren in certain areas. Windows were boarded up, painted over, and stores were forced out. He was witnessing this and is missing the times he spent with his father, reminiscing on the past and wishing Freehold was how it was back when he was a child.
One of the most amazing lines in the song is the last one: "I'm thirty-five, we got a boy of our own now.
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said, 'son take a good look around. This is your hometown.'"
..In this line Bruce is sharing memories with his own child that his father shared with him. It's reflecting on good times and sharing memories with his kid that means the most to him.
Awesome song.
I could imagine a lot of people can relate to their hometown going bad. The place where I grew up certainly isn't the same. Once again, My Hometown is another great story by the Boss.
Stoolhardy and psychospicy got the essence of the song (I'm not sure about the specifics).
and asbury isn't his hometown. sorry.