With all the ideas that have been swirling through my mind the past few days, today's song has particular resonance.I've been thinking about urban planning and cities whose infrastructure lags behind their social and economic needs. I've been thinking about societies whose laws are struggling to keep up with changing technology and demographics. I've been thinking about personal relationships and the need not to get hung up on the past, but open oneself up to new possibilities.
The song is from Chicago's very own Outlaw Family Band and the Lyceum CD. It describes the sad emptiness of a post-industrial bust town, but it also speaks to the most basic reality we all need to face: times change.
Times Change
This old town was built by river and by rail
Every corner has a memory, every building tells a tale
It's been here since they shut down all the trains
Old towns die hard, but times change
Almost a ghost town now, the people've all moved on
Pretty hard to raise a family once the factory is gone
Folks passing thru these streets must seem so strange
Old towns die hard, but times change
I came back here to see my town again
There was nothing left to see, just garbage in the wind
No one knows me, no one recalls my name
Can't hold on to nothing, cause times change
Can't waste your time worrying time away
Clinging to the past, you'll trade in your todays
You'll watch the world grow alien and strange
Old habits die hard, but times change
Long ago my footprints washed away
These streets hold nothing for me, they're empty, cold and gray
I try to keep up, but it's hard to rearrange
This world sure moves fast and times change
This old town was built by river and by rail
Every corner has a memory, every building tells a tale
It's been here since they shut down all the trains
Old towns die hard, but times change
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