A lyric inspired by my daily reality living on a second floor next to an Uptown, Chicago alley….
To Change Things
(Jon Trott)
Every mornin’ the man stands on his fire escape
Drops the trash down to the alley below
Every evenin’ he wanders on down those metal stairs
To puke delirium tremens from a bitter soul
And every day I got nothin’ to say to change things
Every day I got nothin’ to say he’ll hear me say
Every way I got brick and steel and concrete reasons
Every way I got no way to ease his sufferin’ day
My neighbors get grossed out by noise he’s makin’
They hate the things he does and the way he looks
Truth is I find myself feelin’ the same as they do
Sick and tired of his self destruction by the books
And every day I got nothin’ to say to change things
Every day I got nothin’ to say he’ll hear me say
Every way I got brick and steel and concrete reasons
Every way I got no way to ease his sufferin’ day
I grew up a farm boy wheat fields and mountains by me
Montana blue gives way to grey Chicago ghetto night
And maybe I couldn’t see how my personal alley
Would stack up when the trash truck wakes me morning light
And every day I got nothin’ to say to change things
Every day I got nothin’ to say he’ll hear me say
Every way I got brick and steel and concrete reasons
Every way I got no way to ease his sufferin’ day
My neighbor pukin’ I’m hearin’ thinkin’ of us two
His bad choices my good choices how much space between?
How he is Jesus’s lamb when it comes down to what is true
Am I Jesus’ hands and heart — patient for the thing to do?
And every day I got somethin’ to pray to change things
Every day I got something to pray he’ll know to pray
Every way I got brick and steel and concrete reasons
Every way I got this way to ease his sufferin’ day
Every way I got to pray to ease our sufferin’ way
Every way I got to stay believe that God is in this day…
Every day I got somethin’ to pray to change things…
Every day i got somethin’ to do to change things…
Every day I got got to do what Love would ask of me to change things…
