Man . . . they played this segment for a joke on American Idol last night, but looking back on it, all I can see is American Pathos. Metaphorical, actually, for the cockeyed dreams and desperation of a lot of American schmucks in a lot of rundown Allentowns from sea to shining sea.
The irony is that Simon Cowell actually was pretty compassionate with her . . . at least for him. Well, until the Willem Dafoe crack. That stung.
Well we're waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved.
So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke,
Chromium steel.
And we're waiting here in Allentown.
But they've taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaah.
Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got.
Something happened on the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our faaaaaaaace, oh oh oh.
Well I'm living here in Allentown
And it's hard to keep a good man down.
But I won't be getting up todaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy
aaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaah.
-- From "Allentown,"
Billy Joel, 1982
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