Constructive Summer - The Hold Steady

Me and my friends are like

The drums on «Lust for Life»

We pound it out on floor toms

Our psalms are sing-along songs

And this whole town is like this

Been that way our whole lives, just

Work at the mill until you die

Work at the mill, and then you die

We’re gonna build something this summer

(We're gonna build something this summer)

We’ll put it back together

Raise up a giant ladder

With love and trust and friends and hammers

(This summer!)

We’re gonna lean this ladder

Up against the water tower

Climb up to the top and drink and talk

(This summer!)

Me and my friends are like

«Double-whiskey coke, no ice»

We drink along in double-time

Might drink too much, but we feel fine

We’re gonna build something this summer

(Gonna build something this summer)

Summer, grant us all the power

To drink on top of water towers

With love and trust and shows all summer

(Get hammered!)

Let this be my annual reminder

That we can all be something bigger

I went to your schools, I did my detention

But the walls are so gray I couldn’t pay attention

I read your gospel, it moved me to tears

But I couldn’t find the hate, and I couldn’t find the fear

I met your savior, I knelt at his feet

And he took my ten bucks, and he went down the street

I tried to believe all the things that you said

But my friends that aren’t dying are already dead

Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer

I think he might’ve been our only decent teacher

Getting older makes it harder to remember

We are our only saviors

We’re gonna build something this summer