Road like the surface of the Moon
A Detroit neighbourhood left to ruin
Gil at the wheel showing me the sight
Of this crumbling empire
Following suit in the Atlantic mirror
Under the Byker bridge, they shiver
It's one for me, and one for the dead, and one
For my crumbling empire

I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where they'd take me
In this crumbling empire

My old man worked on the rail yard
Betting his trade on the electrical bars
It got privatised, the work degraded
In this crumbling empire
My mother delivered most the kids in this town
My step-dad drove in a tank for the crown
It left them homeless, down and out
In their crumbling empire

I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where I'd be
In this crumbling empire

In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling
In this crumbling empire

I was a kid when they threw him out
Livin' of the streets down town
Under the arches, strung wide out
In a crumbling empire
Twenty-five years on crack and gold
Bagging the painful synthetic hold
Just another kid failed by these
In their crumbling empire

I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where they'd take me
In this crumbling empire

In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire
In our crumbling empire (oh)
In their crumbling empire
In our crumbling empire (oh)
In our crumbling empire (oh)

Yeah (oh)
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh