You Gotta See This Town

You gotta walk down the street
Where the sidewalk meets the heat
And see if you can breathe in
The Saturday night lights
Shining from two days away

You got kissed tonight
You did all right
You forgot to pay
So you have to run back
And apologize to the waitress

As you're running
You see spots where old friends
Broke up and choked up
And got into fights
And stood beneath the lights
You should be standing under now

But somehow they're different lights
And not just the bulbs
Instead they seem to sense

That you were on the fence about moving
Because at one point
You were the only guy left in the joint
From the original crew
And did you want to be that guy?

So the lights said--

'Stick around, kid, you're not done here yet.'

You got hammered tonight

Shit-faced
Wonderful
Drunk
Sincere
Stupid
Amazing

You finally told the truth
About who you are and what you want
And you want to eat pizza at 2am
And call your aunt in New Mexico
Just to say thank you
For being the coolest person I knew growing up

You got balls now
You got a soul
You're in control over how bad you feel
And really, you've always been in control

You like the smack of the sidewalk
As you hit each crack
And pass by hotels you've never stayed at
And restaurants you've never eaten at
And people you haven't met yet

But you bet you will
You bet you will

You imagine writing letters
To the friends who've left

Telling them they missed the town
They lived in for years

Letting them know they didn't really see it
Because you didn't either
Until tonight

Until someone grabbed you
And planted a new perspective
On the edge of your lips

Now you write an imaginary postcard
To everyone who left
Telling them to come back down

Saying you didn't see it
You never see it

And you gotta see this town