Story Behind The Song

True Story ... one hot summer day in PA this song came to life.

Lyrics

I walked a Pennsylvania Steel town on a summer afternoon
And the ghosts of smoke down in the valley
Inspired me to write this tune
I hear an echo of times gone by
I hear the voices soft and low
I bet this town could tell a story of what it was once long ago

If this town could tell a story
Bet I know what it would say
It would talk of grit and guts and glory
some heady times along the way
There would be men and sweat abounding
hammers blazing on the steel
If this town could tell a story, it'd be like the turning of a wheel

I passed a bar down in the valley
on that Pennsylvania Street
and I could swear I heard it talkin
Heard it say some things I can repeat
So I just kept on walkin past the grafitti on the walls
Bet this bar could tell a story of good times and barroom brawls

And if this bar could tell a story
Think I know what it would say
it would tell of pay drunk up in anger
it would tell of fights and jealous rage
it would tell of friendships borne in sorrow
it would talk of freedom from the pain
if this bar could tell a story
It would be like thunder in the rain

there's a house down in the valley with the shingles dirty gray
and the sidewalk has been cracking
all the glamour's stripped away
With broken windows a FOR SALE sign
but there ain't no one left to buy
If this house could tell a story
I bet that you would hear it cry

If this house could tell a story
bet I know what it would say
it would tell of two unhappy people
who lived to fight another day
It would show the sadness in their children
It would tell of anguish in their eyes
If this house could tell a story
The world would hear their muffled cries

OPTIONAL
I spend my life out on the road
And I pass going from town to town
I see people in their struggle
and their burdens weigh them down
and the smiles upon their faces
conceal a pain they cannot share
But if these hearts could tell their story
Bet they want someone to care

someday the walls will tell a story
someday the dark will be made plain
someday the last o faded glory
will usher in a better reign
someday the sorrows will be broken
someday the wrong be made right
but until then I'll tell their story
with those who listen here tonight