These Days

Back not all that long ago
On the heartland family farm
Fires burning warm at night
Grantin' shelter from the storm
We could swim and fish all day
Not a worry or a care
When we got back to the house
Supper was waiting there

These days, the good life's hard to find

Tryin' to put food on the table

We stretch the ties that bind

Seems love for God and family

Is goin' out of style

Takes a lot to smile, these days

I guess it's true we all grow old
An' leave the simple past
Move on in to the city
Where the neon pace is fast
Wrong-way streets an' broken dreams
Bitter memories that don't pass
An' at the bottom of this bottle
There's just an empty glass

These days, love is growin' cold

On the altar of technology

We sacrifice our soul

Fiction rules the classroom

While truth is put on trial

Takes a lot to smile, these days

Seems that life's just one big lesson
You're never out of school
All these things they brag about
Are really not that cool

These days, divided votes are cast

At the turn of a new century

Fear is risin' fast

Security an' freedom

Are hard to reconcile

Takes a lot to smile, these days

Yeah, takes a lot to smile, these days