"What About Main Street" got a standing ovation at the Guthrie Center and I’ve been blown away by how many people have told me that this song has touched them deeply. It's a hard look at what is (and has been) happening for a very long time in this country. This song also could be used in several genres. -N.
The TV Anchor stated with glee
For the first time in history
Wall Streets surpassed 13
They were toasting to prosperity
And guys were buying lots of rounds
There was dancing in the city streets
And people celebrating all around
But what about Main Street?
The stock market’s up
The economy’s booming
Prospects looking rosy in the boardrooms of Beijing
They’re working hard with overtime
Havin’ fun and prospering
Now’s their chance to finally take the time
And do some traveling
Aww but what about Main Street?
Chorus:
But what about Main Street?
Where the shops are boarded up
Where you can’t even buy an apple or coffee in a cup
What about Main Street
Where they’re cashin’ in their chips
And movin’ out for survival
‘Tsreal life not St. Moritz
Oh what about Main Street?
Jobs with living wages have vanished
They’ve been “outsourced” ‘cross our borders
Left so many high and dry
Though luxuries once were costly
You could usually get by
Now necessities are outta reach
And luxury’s dirt-cheap
And what about Main Street?
Chorus:
What about Main Street
Where the locals socialized
Now the shops once filled with the tools of life
Are all (now)“glitz and glamorized”
What about Main Street?
Once the center of our universe
(Nowtsa) Now it’s a playground for the rich and beautiful
Seems like progress in reverse
Ah but what about Main Street?
Everywhere you look the housing market’s down
Neighborhoods are looking
Something like ghost towns
As one by one folks slip away, quietly in the night
Heavy hearted with broken dreams
They’ve lost their will to fight
So what about Main Street?
Chorus:
But what about Main Street?
Where the shops are boarded up
Where you can’t even buy a can of beans or coffee in a cup
What about Main Street
Where they’re cashin’ in their chips
And movin’ out for survival
Desperation not St. Moritz
Oh what about Main Street?