Well I find myself in reverie   'Bout what we might have had   And what might have been   We had something going once   That was such a long, long time ago   It was way back in '76   Our friendship formed of pure innocence   We first met in Mathew Street   Where we heard something that would set us free   A sign stands over a door, it says   "Four lads who shook the world"   In the depths of those heady nights   We would dream of those bright lights   Oh my friend, Oh my friend, Oh my friend      And my friend John, he went away   He made some mistakes   Spent time in Walton jail   And now when I see him we still talk   But there's no light shining in his eyes   And Susie, she was seventeen   And more beauty in this world   I swear you'll never see   I was gonna be king   And she was gonna be queen   But now all she does is hide behind the tears   If there was more sense in this world   And work wasn't so hard to find   You would not be going your way   I would not be going mine   Oh my friend, Oh my friend, Oh my friend      Somewhere tonight out on the street   Somewhere beneath this city's heat   In the eyes of strangers who pass me by   Life is cruel and so unkind   Oh, Oh the SPIRIT OF '76      And Pete has seen his dreams come true   But that don't make him no hero   He's just one of the lucky few   If a man can't change the world these days   I still believe a man can change his own destiny   But the price is high that has got to be paid   For everyone who survives there are many who fail   I've seen my friends caught out in that crossfire      All their dreams and hopes smashed on the funeral pyre   I will never give in until the day I die   Get myself some independence   Carve out a future with my two bare hands   Oh my friend, Oh my friend, Oh my friend      Somewhere tonight out on the street   Somewhere beneath this city's heat   In the eyes of strangers who pass me by   Life is cruel and so unkind   Oh, Oh the SPIRIT OF '76         Mersey lights shine in the distance   Same as they did for us then   Mersey lights shine bright in the distance   Where are you now my friend?      You see some nights when I can't sleep   I still think of you      And all the promises,all our dreams we shared   I know those lights still call to you   I can hear them now   I can hear them now      (Still shining for us)   (Let em shine)      (Can you hear them)   (Can you hear them)      (Lights are still shining)      Somewhere tonight out on the street   Somewhere beneath this city's heat   In the eyes of strangers who pass me by   Life is cruel and so unkind   Oh- Oh   Where's it gone   The SPIRIT OF '76