Through the Cracks Lyrics

The last train rolled out of town today;
You might have seen it on the news.
We gathered around the engine yard
To say our good-byes to the crews.
Well the cheering stopped, the laughter died
It dwindled down the tracks
"That's that", I heard someone say,
"We've fallen through the cracks."
I wandered homeward through the quiet streets
To finish packing up to go.
So hard to meet the eyes of friends
Who've nowhere left to go
Well the plant closed down in this one-job town,
It won't be coming back
Left us to die by slow degrees here
Or fall between the cracks
And now the closed-up stores and the empty lots
And the signs that say "FOR SALE"
Bear witness to those who bought the lies
Of the dream that had to fail
It's like a movie ands and the credits roll,
And the screen fades down to black
For those of us who struggle on here,
Or fall between the cracks.

I planted one last crop this year,
To maybe give it one more try.
The dry winds came and they filled with dust
They blotted out the sky.
The scoured the hills and the river-beds;
They turned the skies to black.
The ground split wide, the seeds dried up.
They fell between the cracks.
And now the car's all packed and the house is closed
And the neighbours wave good-bye.
My wife gets in beside me now; she's trying not to cry.
And she holds our son and she strokes his hair,
And she says "now don't look back.
We have to leave this place and try to make some luck
Or fall between the cracks."