The banks of the river run through my hometown   As a boy I ran the dirt roads and I scraped my knees   Well, they paved the roads eventually   With neon signs and car dealerships and diners      The soldiers fill the hotels on the weekends   I saw the pretty women as I walked through town      Well, I moved away soon as I turned sixteen   Figured I was old enough to go and work a job   Well, I floated down main street, pools of car lights   Overcame me wishing, I was still back home      The soldiers fill the hotels on the weekends   I saw the pretty women as I walked through town      Well, Jacksonville's a city with a hopeless streetlight   Seems like you're lucky, if it ever change from red to green   I was born in an abundance of inherited sadness   And .50 cent picture frames bought at a five and dime      I ended up a soldier on the weekend   Looking for a vacancy I was unable to find   Somewhere the night sky hangs like a blanket   Shoot it with my cap gun just to make it, seem like stars