A Northern Boy
When the chill wind steels through the canyon
The city puts its heart on ice
There's no effort in the rush to escape there
That's really no kind of life
It's a one-time tonic for the twist around
So we're running through the back streets
Find adventure on the wrong side of town
No one leafing through the sheets
When the summer comes around
The wind blows as hard if you let her
But it really can't warm you now
A Northern boy ought to know better
Kicking back another own goal
It's strange how it feels
to know you'll never find the answer
To the question that nags at your soul
Didn't you know any better?
Did you never learn to rock and roll
While your mom was signing the letter
Letting you out on parole?
Insist your sister stays the right side of town
Not rocking to some guy's beat
But she wants to loosen off his frown, somehow
Rocking in his back seat
Didn't you know any better?
Did you never learn to rock and roll
While your mom was signing that letter
Letting you out on parole?
When the summer comes around
The wind blows as hard if you let her
A Northern boy ought to know better
Although some listeners have suggested this was somehow autobiographical, for once, it wasn't. The lyrics are based on an imagined short story of a troubled young man in Chicago, juggling memories of his misspent youth and worrying about his sister while he awaits parole...
...the artwork is a distraction, it's of my photos of one of the bridges over The River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead looking towards the Baltic Flour Mills. While, I've travelled extensively in the USA, I've never even been to Chicago, although I have driven through Illinois...
