Chains Songtext
von The Twangtown Paramours

My name is Mike O′Malley
I'm my father′s eldest son
Since I've come to this country
I've three children of my own

I work the beat on Wooster Street
Down by Washington Square
I proudly wear my uniform
I ride a fine young mare

Chains, chains, chains
And doors forever locked inside my soul
Chains, chains, chains
In all my dreams I cannot break their hold

I heard windows breaking
So I galloped down the street
Six hundred factory workers
In the fire, smoke, and heat


I raced inside, oh Lord, I tried
But on the topmost floors
Young seamstresses were trapped behind
The shackled exit doors

Chains, chains, chains
And doors forever locked inside my soul
Chains, chains, chains
In all my dreams I cannot break their hold

Two women out a window climbed
Through suffocating air
Standing on the seventh floor
Embers in their hair

They looked down at the gasping crowd
From high up on a ledge
No nets below could hold them
So I prayed the angels did

Chains, chains, chains
And doors forever locked inside my soul
Chains, chains, chains
In all my dreams I cannot break their hold


For every father′s daughter
Who worked to earn her bread
There′s an empty place at supper
While grace is softly said

I often see their faces
In the evening's candlelight
Then I snuff the flame
And climb the stairs
And kiss my girls goodnight

Chains, chains, chains
And doors forever locked inside my soul
Chains, chains, chains
In all my dreams I cannot break their hold
In all my dreams I cannot break their hold