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The Goo Goo Dolls - Broadway

Information

Performed by:	The Goo Goo Dolls
Lead vocals by:	John Rzeznik
Buy online:	iTunes (US)

At various concerts John Rzeznik introduced Broadway saying the song is about the neighbourhood John grew up in, in Buffalo, New York. On VH1 Storytellers he explains: "I wrote this song about the neighbourhood I grew up in, and some of the really interesting characters that lived there. There were a lot of good people there, but certainly a few very narrow minded people. It was like this blue collar working class kinda neighbourhood in Buffalo, and it was like -and I'm not trying to sound like Bruce Springsteen, but that was really was it was like- basically what it was like is a church on every corner and a bar on every corner. So that was kinda the vibe and everybody worked in all the factories around town and stuff. I'm proud that I'm from there. And it's kinda forgotten place now. The neighbourhood has gotten really run down now. So I went back to see my fathers house, where I grew up in. And I'm driving down the street and I'm like 'I gotta get the hell out of this neighbourhood.' Or I'll be killed. But it was a great place to grow up in. You learn the difference between right and wrong out of someone telling you or smacking it into your head. In retrospect I'm glad for that."

The Broadway in this song is about Broadway St. in Buffalo, New York and not about Broadway in New York City.

The line "You pray to statues when you sober up for fun" is probably a reference to the bars and churches in his neighbourhood.

Lyrics

Broadway is dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway is dark tonight
See the young man sitting in the old man's bar
Waiting for his turn to die

The cowboy kills the rock star
And Friday night's gone too far
The dim light hides the years
On all the faded girls

Forgotten but not gone
You drink it off your mind
You talk about the world
Like it's someplace that you've been

You see you'd love to run home but you know you ain't got one
Cause you're living in a world that you're best forgotten around here

Broadway is dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway is dark tonight
See the young man sitting in the old man's bar
Waiting for his turn to die

You choke down all your anger
Forget your only son
You pray to statues when you sober up for fun
You're anger don't impress me
The world slapped in your face
It always rains like hell on the loser's day parade

You see you'd love to run home, but you know ain't got one
Cause you're living in a world that you're best forgotten
When you're thinking you're a joke and nobody's gonna listen
To the one small point I know they've been missing around here

Broadway is dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway is dark tonight
See the young man sitting in the old man's bar
Waiting for his turn to die

You see you'd love to run home but you know ain't got one
Cause you're living in a world that you're best forgotten
And if you're thinking you're a joke do you think that they'll listen
To the one small point I know they've been missing around here
Round here
Broadway is dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway is dark tonight
See the young man sitting in the old man's bar
Waiting for his turn to die