Well I've lived and breathed and been disbelieved In these small town streets too long I've held nothin' but aces and been many places And hung on the corner 'til dawn But my hands they have been tied To a life I've been denied I'm just a small town boy bein' used like a toy And workin' a nine to five
Well I worked like a fool 'til after done with high school Just to form a rock and rollin' band But the streets were exploding and my life I was decoding Had a dream I couldn't understand And but I work it out everyday For no fun and very little pay I'm just a small town boy bein' used like a toy And doin' what other people say
Well I've drooled and fooled and been ridiculed For havin' dreams just above my reach And I've lied and died and tried suicide For all the things you people wanna preach But I always had to turn the other way When I heard those home folks say They say, "You're just a small town boy bein' used like a toy And livin' on a day to day"
But you must believe that when I walk down the tracks All those young girls fall back and they say "There goes that sleek young silhouette He don't drive no Corvette but he stings just like a Sting Ray" And that's my only redemption in this house of detention That keeps me from simply blowin' it all away 'Cause when I walk down the street in the hot summer heat I say, "God don't take this away"
Well by the end of the day, all the kids would go play And I'd come staggering back home With those dream in my hand and a master plan That wouldn't leave my mind alone Well I compromised all my schemes And I fluctuated all my dreams But I'm just a small town boy bein' used like a toy And nothing is like it really seems
But what a fool I must seem to have all these dreams And try to live them all through It's like a slap on your face, with a mercury chrome taste When the dream, the dream is long overdue And it seems kinda strange that nobody came To the game that I have put myself through And when I walk down the street in the hot summer heat I say, "What the hell can I do?"
Well I keep hopin' and wishin' that these romantic positions Gonna help me hide all this pain And all the hurt that I've felt underneath my leather studded belt Of not findin' my fortune and fame Some day I'll blow 'em away with the things that I sing and I say I'm just a small town boy bein' used like a toy And waitin' on my pay day