Lyrics to Used to be a City:
David Rovics
I was young once, it was a long time ago
Things were different then, I thought that you should know
This old building was once a factory
We made Stetsons, your grandpa and me
It wasn’t easy, but at least life was going down;
There used to be a city in this town
This rusted railyard had a hotel and a couple of stores
We had good times here between the wars
It wasn’t paradise but there was music in the street
Right there is where your grandparents first had a chance to meet
They got married in that church, I can still see her wedding gown;
There used to be a city in this town
When the change came, it started one by one:
First the layoffs, then the factory was gone,
Then came the highways, the suburbs and Wal-Mart;
That was the final blow that tore this place apart
But it seems like just last year when there were people all around;
There used to be a city in this town
The census says there’s people here but I think someone’s confused
Just look out at these sidewalks, they’re not being used
You know when a city dies, it doesn’t die with grace
It just becomes a ruin, shouting this was once the place
Guess it’s time to leave, but I don’t know where I’d be bound;
There used to be a city in this town
“World Before Columbus”
Suzanne Vega
If your love were taken from me
Every color would be black and white
It would be as flat as the world before Columbus
That’s the day that I lose half my sight
If your life were taken from me
All the trees would freeze in this cold ground
It would be as cruel as the world before Columbus
Sail to the edge and I’d be there looking down
Those men who lust for land
And for riches strange and new
Who love those trinkets of desire
Oh, they never will have you
And they’ll never know the gold
Or the copper in your hair
How could they weigh the worth
Of you so rare
If your love were taken from me
Every light that’s bright would soon go dim
It would be as dark as the world before Columbus
Down the waterfall and I’d swim over the brim
Those men who lust for land
And for riches strange and new
Who love those trinkets of desire
Oh, they will never have you
And they’ll never know the gold
Or the copper in your hair
How could they weigh the worth
Of you so rare
So Sick of Drowning 
