State of the Union Songtext
von Richard Shindell

Had a nice easy mark
At the edge of the park
Slam dunk if ever I saw one
I don′t know what happened
I just let it go by
I guess maybe out of respect

This old town is my home
And I'm not so far gone
But I don′t feel like anyone else
And it didn't seem right to add to the wrong
I decided to get me some help

"If not now, then when?" I was asking myself
Over and over again
Make it right, get free, get rid of the junk
Heard it can happen that way


So I went down to the clinic
On 110th
And I got on the methadone program
I waited on line
Every morning at nine
For my little white cup, my reprieve

It was going okay
I was feeling alright
I even got back with my daughter
I lost a few friends
But they were anything but
Just took it one day at a time

"If not now, then when?" I was asking myself
Over and over again
Make it right, get free, get rid of the junk
They say it can happen that way

I can't say for sure
How it all fell apart
One thing just led to another
And the next thing I knew
I had stolen a car
And I was flying straight up through the Bronx


Must′ve lost the old touch
′Cause I blew through a toll
They caught me just outside of Rhine
Sporting all that remained
Of my newfound resolve
A shirt that said "NYPD"

Some shred of my soul could almost believe
That the Lord had sent those cruisers for me
Make it right, get free, get rid of the junk
But it don't always happen that way

At the halfway house
We′re sitting around
Watching State of the Union
Me, I'm rolling that stone
Right back up the hill
Watch out for the shit coming down

′Cause the president's up there
Grinning that grin
Thinking he′s some kind of John Wayne
And we're howling and cheering
All this talk about drilling
Shooting our way out of this

"If not now, then when?" we're all asking ourselves
Over and over again
Make it right, get free, get rid of the junk
But it don′t always happen that way