A Different Empire (feat. Patricia Eisenhart, flute)

Picture the Empire upstate where I grew up A middle of nowhere that once was a railroad town Starry nights in winter snow, skating frozen ponds "Sunlit valley, mountain fields, here all life abounds" Mom and dad captured life in a slide show reel In a tiny house on the hill surrounded by fields my world went on as far as my bike wheels could go when I think back now it doesn't seem long ago The cool of the shade of the woods and the smell of the hay Fireflies lit up the night like youth lit the day The far horizon called like a siren song but the stone and steel Empire's glow couldn't warm me for long It was not the Empire you think of It was lost on a back road of time An old place in the path of progress What happened to the hometown I left behind? I set off in search of my life as soon as I could Like a moth to a flame, I flew like a young man should And the men and their promises came to build and expand But saw all of their plans laid to waste by the lack of demand It was not the Empire you think of It was lost on a back road of time An old place in the path of progress What happened to the hometown I left behind? The commuter lines and condos have all gone to rust Left the Empire a ghost town covered in dust The power plant pours its poison into the sky While the ghosts who still live there choke down another lie I used to know whose woods these are I'm stopped by Before they were slashed and scarred by the big power line Houses and gas stations stand where we once raced our bikes And the same sun that lit my youth doesn't seem quite as bright It's not the Empire I dream of When I'm lost on a back road of time An old place in the path of progress What happened to the Empire I left behind? "Dreams flow across the heartland Feeding on the fires. Dreams transport desires Drive you when you're down Dreams transport the ones who need To get out of town"