Everything is slower here, everybody's got a union card   They get up on Sunday, go to church of their choice   Come back home, cook out in the backyard      And they call this the Great Midwest   Where the cornfields grow and flow   They're all 5 years ahead of their time   Or 25 behind, I just don't know      And all the young men talk about their 4 wheel drives   How much money they're gonna make on Friday night   And they like to brag about how they mistreat their girlfriends   Hey, let's get drunk, party it up, start a fight      And they call this the Great Midwest   Sure make a hell of a car   And the old hearts, they race their way through the night   The upheaval of who they really are      Growin' up under normal conditions, television and radio   That's just about all of this whole world   That any of us get to see, get to know      And they call this the Great Midwest   Where you sacrifice body and soul   No one really wants to get even   Most of us find it hard enough just lettin' go      Don't get me wrong, I ain't complaining   I ain't braggin', nor do I mean to place blame   That's just the way things are around here   And there's a future carryin' my name on it      Sayin' hey man, you gonna stick around here you better get on it   If you're gonna stick around here   You better make yourself some real good friends      Well, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth   So I can't talk about the big city hi-life   You wanna talk about bein' bored and runnin'   Away from yourself, hell, I can talk to you all night      And they call this the Great Midwest   Where livin' is just gettin' by   And people, they trade in their happiness   For a smokestack, a big money deal in the sky