Everybody wanna change the world But nobody ever changed this town Tell yourself you're gonna rise above it 'Til the blacktop pulls you down We got blue veins til they hit the knife And we don't change (who we are) Who we are (Can't change who we are, can't change who we are) We got blue veins 'til they hit the knife And they bleed red, bleed red Why can't I be more? I don't wanna fight my father's wars But nothing comes easy where I come from So we sweat it out in the concrete Sun, woah 'Til the colors run I've seen the story play out before Old men, they just fade away And we become what our fathers were Like soldiers following the orders Put it on the shoulders of the family name (Can't change who we are, can't change who we are) It's who we are (Can't change who we are, can't change who we are) We got blue veins 'til they hit the knife And they bleed red, bleed red Why can't I be more? I don't wanna fight my father's wars But nothing comes easy where I come from So we sweat it out in the concrete Sun, woah 'Til the colors run Maybe it's like Axel spins it You hate it, you hate it, and then one day you miss it Find yourself coming back to old divisions While your cinder block dream sleeps with the fishes Thought it had wings, you thought you could fly But nobody flies on the south side You're just born here and then you die Loyal to the oil in the blacktop sky Or maybe it's like Joni says it Nothing is written, boy, nothing is set There's something brave about staying with it And making beauty out of all this But I'm a long way from going the distance Feels more like dying by inches The wishes and the misses The poverty of indifference Why can't I be more? I don't wanna fight my father's wars Nothing comes easy where I come from So we sweat it out in the concrete Sun, woah 'Til the colors run 'Til the colors run