I know that Birmingham gets you down
And I guess that makes sense
When so many old friends retired
If not expired, by the time we were twenty three
Getting blacked out and locked up
Cashed out and knocked up
Look at it that way, there ain’t much for me
But just consider the weeds downtown, and how they grow
How the Queen Anne’s Lace covers hot parking lots like snow
I know the new architecture’s largely depressing
And the politics are pretty regressive
But ain’t shining a light on what’s dark
Kind of your thing
The murder wave is abating
And the population decline is stagnating
If that ain’t an invitation, darling, what could it be
Addressed right to you and me
Consider the weeds downtown, and how they grow
How the Queen Anne’s Lace covers hot parking lots like snow
Paris and New York don’t have honeysuckle vines like the ones on 32nd
Street
I know that Birmingham gets you down, but look what it raised you up to
be