Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Allentown

Performed by Billy Joel

Well, we're living here in Allentown

And they're closing all the factories down

Out in Bethlehem they're killing time

Filling out forms

Standing in line

Well, our fathers fought the second World War

Spent their weekends on the Jersey shore

Met our mothers in the USO

Asked them to dance

Danced with them slow

And we're living here in Allentown

But the restlessness was handed down

And it's getting very hard to stay

Well we're waiting here in Allentown

For the Pennsylvania we never found

For the promises our teachers gave

If we worked hard

If we behaved

So the graduations hang on the wall

But they never really helped us at all

No they never taught us what was real

Iron and coke

Chromium Steel

And we're waiting here in Allentown

But they've taken all the coal from the ground

And the union people crawled away

Every child had a pretty good shot

To get at least as far as their old man got

But something happened on the way to that place

They threw an American flag in our face

Well, I'm living here in Allentown

And it's hard to keep a good man down

But I won't be getting up today

And it's getting very hard to stay

And we're living here in Allentown

~ from Lyric Wiki ~