CONVENTION HALL
There she stands straddling the boardwalk
Pushing out from the beach into the sea
Like some vaunted marine version of radio city
She stands empty but she's calling out to me
She's the crown jewel of the waterfront
The monument of grandeur
The grand old lady of the coastline
The testament to splendor
Once upon a time she saw royalty come and go
Long ago when she hosted many a famous face
But now even those old folks who used to vegetate here are gone
They passed on and never were replaced
She once was a beautiful palace
But that was before the disaster fell
It was a downward spiral onto the slag heap
And all that's left now is a hollow shell
I walked the terraces soaked with ocean spray
Beneath the paint chipped vaulted ceiling
I searched all around for a way inside
Just to get the feeling
Just to stand within the cavernous hall
To let the spirit surround me
And to try to make heads or tails
Of what's going on around me
You couldn't share my vision and you weren't party to my ambition
At the most you suggest I come down for a year to get it all out of my system
But it's in my blood babe even my dad could see
There's no way that you can shake it free
Though you don't want me to succeed
Well it took awhile baby before it came down to the truth
I didn't know just what was going on with us and I had to get to the roots
I had to come down to the holy land with or without you
But I couldn't do it 'cause you were too precious to lose
Don't force me to choose
But all your advisers tell you to dump me after everything I've said
Your best friend's hotshot music lawyer cousin says the scene here is dead
My parents say if I chase the dream I must be out of my head
And none of the above can figure out why the two of us even wed
They all say Give up your dream and take life Seriously
Put it all on the back burner for the sake of something we call Reality
But darling where does it all leave me?
Everybody seems to know What's Best For Me
Everybody seems to Know It All except for me
Well it's time to put my foot down and show all these folks
That I know what's best for me and man it ain't no joke!
And as I sit inside by the piano onstage
Playing my heart out to four thousand empty seats
The hidden sounds of concerts pageants and shows of better days
Embedded in these walls release their heat
And set me on fire with a passion that consumes
A passion that exists for nothing else but it fills this empty room
To bring some life to light the palpable darkness and gloom
Trying in vain to counteract the words of some unseen prophet of doom
No more funny places
No more famous faces
No more days at the races
No more steeplechases
No more former graces
No more love embraces
All that's left is empty spaces
And the glory with barely any traces
It's all gone!
