Pretenders

I was sharing my apartment with a guy from MIT
Paul Revere outside my window in Little Italy
He said man what are you doing, you're gonna waste your life away
One person in a million's gonna catch the golden break
I was torn between the North End and Back Bay
She couldn't see herself in the songs that I was playing
Learned some rhythm and some riffs, I couldn't put down any roots
I was a redcoat lost in Boston town, I had to face the truth

I was singing to myself like I was someone else
A stranger among strangers in the street
When I couldn't find a place to call my own
I knew I'd have to bring it all back home

Had a drink with Mr. Nichols at the Phoenix off Kings Road
The deal he offered was about as far as I could go
Went from London out to Nashville, all the way to California
Trains and planes and changing lanes but no one ever warns ya
You can fly and you can ride
You can run and you can hide
But what you think you gotta keep is what you gotta leave behind

I was singing to myself like I was someone else
A stranger among strangers in the street
Another ticket in my hand, another foreign land
To get away from the pretenders in my dreams
When I couldn't find a place to call my own
I knew I'd have to bring it all back home

Bring it all back home

I stumbled down to Camden Town to get my spirits back again
I couldn't find a single soul, was like the plague had taken them
Found some bottles of cachaça and drank them till I dropped
The devil checked in on Thursdays I woke up when he knocked
He picked me off the floor and said as though he had rehearsed
To build a strong foundation you gotta hit rock bottom first

I was singing to myself like I was someone else
A stranger among strangers in the street
Another ticket in my hand, another foreign land
To get away from the pretenders in my dreams
If you can't find a place to call your own
One day you gotta bring it all back home

Bring it all back home
Bring it all back home