This Town / The Rakes Progress / 100 Nights

The cars leave their trails of hot and cold light inside my head
 Like burned-in long exposure pictures
 The wheels spin slowly backwards
 Strobing in the amber light
 And the rain comes down and washes my brain
 But it don't get clean
 This town has turned me into what I have become
 This town dresses me up like a stranger
 This town performs in the window like the ultimate gift
 This town takes us down
 I feel like I'm losing you to this town
 We were saving our money for half of our lives
 We were saving our dreams
 And we came to this place to make the chances real
 In the big city
 But I've been counting the days
 I've been watching you change
 And I can feel it dying
 The noise outside takes you in its arms
 Like a lamb to a lion
 And down there somewhere among the noise
 The magazine dolls and the big money boys
 Move silently on their easy heels
 They move silently on their greasy wheels
 This town has turned me into what I have become
 This town dresses you up like a stranger
 This town hangs around in the doorway and tells me I'm late
 This town takes us down, takes us down
 I feel like I'm losing you to this town
 The morning breaks and I watch you awake
 This town takes you down away from me again
 What do you do when your roots have dissolved and broken down
 And the soil that you grew in when you were small
 Has become nothing more than dirt in some dirty town
 When you list all the qualities that you despise
 And you realize you're describing yourself
 And breakin' someone up inside
 Is your only source of pride
 A hundred nights of fun and games
 A thousand empty glasses
 I feel it change
 And stay the same
 As each day passes
 They invite me to their gatherings
 In the finer parts of town
 They seem attracted to my indifference
 The irony just knocks me out
 And I love them as if I love them
 And they reciprocate with "help"
 But I look up at these mirrors sometimes
 And I can't see myself
 They say that some are born to burn
 And some are born to give
 They say that people live and learn
 Some people only live and live
 You don't know that I come here
 But if you did, you would know why
 So we close our eyes
 You didn't notice me
 As I passed you on the stairs
 How could you ever guess
 Looking at my face
 How closely I share your taste
 How well I know your place
 Even the clothes you wear
 I've seen them when you're not there
 You say that you can win win win
 If you know how to play the game
 But while you're out there playing you see
 There's something you should know
 She spends your money
 She spends your money on me