Last time I was on these streets I was only 17 years old 
But in the eyes of the law that was old enough to be tried as an adult 

Now after all these years the folks round here still remember who I am 
Sometimes I catch them watching me close or they just act like they don’t give a damn 

Cause lord I’ve been gone so long 
Now this place don’t feel like home 
I’ve been gone so long 
And all I want is to move on 

Early in the morning I go looking for work, I bum rides since I lost my car 
Hitch a couple miles to my PO Just to tell him no luck so far 

I served my time and I paid my debt but there’s always something more I owe 
Seems like all I can do is what I’ve always done and just go back to what I know 

Cause lord I’ve been gone so long 
Now this place don’t feel like home 
I’ve been gone so long 
And all I want is to move on 

At night I lay awake and wonder how else to make amends 
But can’t help but start to think they’re never gonna let me start again 

Cause lord I’ve been gone so long 
Now this place don’t feel like home 
I’ve been gone so long 
And all I want is to move on

At night I pray to rise before the sun is up 
For a moment to myself and the fading memory of my dreams 

I wipe my eyes and I fill my cup 
And try to pray for someone else, cause I have everything I need 

Then daylight spills across the room and the work of yesterday resumes 
Mistakes are made in every plan to face all that the day demands 
I can only hope to grow and learn to let it go 

And live like a river flows 
And let love be like water flooding everywhere I go 
And give with all my heart and soul 
Surrendering to everything I know I can’t control 
And know my life is not my own 

I step into the air and I hold my breath 
One foot before the next, and make my way on down the streets 

And ask myself why I just can’t connect 
Because I see myself in every stranger that I meet 

The drifters and the orphan boys 
The businessman collecting toys 
The outlaws with their smoking guns 
The princes and the favorite sons 
It’s who I am, it’s what I’ve done 
So for each and every one 

I’ll live like a river flows 
And let love be like water flooding everywhere I go 
And give with all my heart and soul 
Surrendering to everything I know I can’t control 
And know my life is not my own 

Oh it’s a promise I’ve made 
But will I do anything to keep my word? 
Or will I just be too afraid to free the voice inside me that’s dying to be heard 

Singing live like a river flows 
And let love be like water flooding everywhere I go 
And give with all my heart and soul 
Surrendering to everything I know I can’t control 
And know my life is not my own

There’s ash in my mouth and dust on my skin 
Mud on my knees and blood on my shins 
And another dead end means it’s time to begin 
The road back home to St. Christopher’s Inn 

Now folks look at me like I’m destined to lose, 
With my track marks and Jesus Christ tattoos 
But I’m too tired to tell them to walk in my shoes 
So I’m going where a man is never refused 

Oh but I fear I’ll never feel free 
And sick and tired is all I’ll ever be 
And it grips me so tightly I barely can breathe 
Oh merciful lord please take this from me 

And now every time that I rise from the dead 
St. Anthony’s cross hangs over my bed 
And the prayer of St. Francis is stuck in my head, 
I’ve been there before and I’m going again 

Oh but I fear I’ll never feel free 
And sick and tired is all I’ll ever be 
And it grips me so tightly I barely can breathe 
Oh merciful lord please take this from me 

But the hope that sustains me comes deep from within 
And God loves the sinners cause God’s in the sin 
And I am who I am cause of where I have been 
On the road back home to St. Christopher’s Inn 
Yes I’m going back home to St. Christopher’s Inn

I was killin’ some time just drinking down at Sophie’s 
told my girl I’d be home in a little while 
When this dude swung in with this Jameson grin 
He said “Boy I bet I know your style” 
He said “I aint sellin’ it cheap, cause man you know I gotta eat 
but I got some blow that you really need to try” 
So I checked my phone, I knew my girl was home alone 
But hell it’s just a little line 

And heaven knows if there’s one promise I’ve kept 
Still got my mother’s Saint Christopher hanging round my neck 
Lord knows I don’t know why I don’t do what I should 
I swear I mean it every time I say I’m coming home 
Yea I’m coming home for good 

Now I’d been up all night, I dragged myself across the Bowery 
With my boots barely hanging from my feet 
And the sun burned bright as I stumbled across the mission 
Into a man begging change in the heat 
He said “You look just like my boy, and you remind me of myself, 
A jean jacket rockn’roller in his prime 
Now I ain’t trying to score, I’m just trying to get some help” 
And I thought man, this must be some kinda sign 

And heaven knows if there’s one promise I’ve kept 
Still got my mother’s Saint Christopher hanging round my neck 
Lord knows I don’t know why I don’t do what I should 
I swear I mean it every time I say I’m coming home 
Yea I’m coming home for good 

So I turned my back and I stumbled round the corner 
Past the folks standing in the methadone line 
And then it all turned black, but you know I still remember 
How I couldn’t shake the feeling I was running out of time 

And heaven knows if there’s one promise I’ve kept 
Still got my mother’s Saint Christopher hanging round my neck 
Lord knows I don’t know why I don’t do what I should 
I swear I mean it every time I say I’m coming home 
Yea I’m coming home for good

A couple of days is as long as I go 
Before my hands start shaking and the fever takes hold 
I got the number of a guy I know 
3 A.M. yea I betcha he shows 

Now I don’t even try 
I don’t bother to pray 
When all of my control starts slipping away 
I hide from the obsession in the light of the day 
But it’s fading 
So I’m just waiting 

Oh I can’t tell you what I’m gonna do when the sun goes down 
If I get high I know there’s nothing that I wont lose when I come down 

I had a girl and job that paid 
And they watched me destroy everything I made 
Got a couple of brothers and a mom and dad 
And they watched me destroy everything I had 

Now I don’t even cry when they walk away 
I push ‘em till they break then I beg ‘em to stay 
Nothing ain’t worth the price I pay 
But I’m paying 
Can’t you hear me saying 

Oh I can’t tell you what I’m gonna do when the sun goes down 
If I get high I know there’s nothing that I won’t lose when I come down 

I know it’s my fault 
I must be insane 
But I’ve got no choice 
When the thought gets in my brain 
God help me it all comes down, to when the sun goes down 

There has to be a hope 
And there must be a way 
I’m desperate and alone and I’m desperate to change 
I’m willing to listen if someone’s willing to say 
I’m worth saving 
Am I worth saving? 

Cause I can’t tell you what I’m gonna do when the sun goes down 
If I get high I know there’s nothing that I won’t lose when I come down 

I know it’s my fault 
I must be insane 
But I’ve got no choice 
Cause I can’t take this pain 
God help me it all comes down to when the sun goes down

I remember when I first saw you 
The schoolgirl skirt and the cigarette in your hand 
Singing Born To Run 
You said your dad was drunk and your mom was gone 

I was slinging some dope on the corners 
I was only a boy trying to be a man 
That was all I knew 
And I’d never had someone to call my own 

So we got blasted from a cannon in the middle of the dark 
Like a quarter stick of dynamite in Riverside park, 
And I held you tight to the beat of my heart 
While you whispered that nothing would ever keep us apart 
Swore I’d take care of you, 
Goddamn, I swear I tried but baby I just wasn’t able to 

We’re at the mercy of what sets us free, 
Remember falling in love for the very first time? 
Remember getting high for the very first time? 
This aint the way that this was meant to be, 
Remember falling in love for the very first time, 
Remember getting high for the very first time 

Begged half of the year on the trains, 
Grand Central winter or the dope sick New York rain, 
Just playing the game, 
Making just enough to kill the pain 

I caught a charge, wound up in a cell
Detox in prison for a brand new personal hell 
Left you with just your body to sell 
From the darkness of some cheap hotel 

I said this aint no way for anybody to live, 
But can you ever forget? 
Can you ever forgive me baby? 
When I get back we’ll both stay clean,
Get on public assistance, now that I’m 18 
We swore we wouldn’t use, 
But goddamn, we’ve done everything we swore we would never do 

We’re at the mercy of what sets us free, 
Remember falling in love for the very first time? 
Remember getting high for the very first time? 
This aint the way that this was meant to be, 
Remember falling in love for the very first time, 
Remember getting high for the very first time 

When I got out I knew where to find you, 
You said to meet in park where we first made love 
I ran the whole way 
Sure enough, that’s where I found you, 
With blue lips and a face as white as a dove 
The needle on the ground where you lay 

And I held you as I tried to pray, 
But there was nothing, 
just nothing that I could say 

We’re at the mercy of what sets us free, 
Remember falling in love for the very first time? 
Remember getting high for the very first time? 
This aint the way that this was meant to be, 
Remember falling in love for the very first time, 
Remember getting high for the very first time

Well I was seventeen when I spent my first night in a cell
Get that liquor in me 
I'll be raising all kinds of hell   

It scared me half to death, 
how I just can't control myself 
I'm begging for somebody's help but they say I can't be believed 

How'd I end up here, 
Here again? 
Here with the lost boys in a young man's prison 
How'd I end up here? 
Back in the pen 
Where the wind blows through the brick rows in the heat 
living my life on my knees   

Well I've been burning out, every time I try 

Drying myself out on Riker's Island in July 

Oh warden can't you see 
The victim here is really me 
The men that visit us say that I've got a disease 

How'd I end up here, 
Here again? 
Here with the lost boys in a young man's prison 
How'd I end up here? 
Back in the pen 
Where the wind blows through the brick rows in the heat 

living my life on my knees, 
I see the ocean at night in my dreams 
I feel the freedom of salt on the breeze 
Waking up to the clanging of keys 

How'd I end up here, 
Here again? 
Here with the lost boys in a young man's prison 
How'd I end up here? 
Back in the pen 
Where the wind blows through the brick rows in the heat 
living my life on my knees

I’ve been trying to talk with my old man 
Says he knows me better then I’ll ever understand 

But still he can’t explain the things I’ve done 
Or what it’s like to be the father of a Reckless Son 

And for all the years I made sure I was numb 
All the liquored up conversations where I played deaf and dumb 

For all the screaming angels in my heart and in my head 
Not a word was spoken until my father said 

I can’t hide you from your own hands 
Or lift you from your knees 
But I’m preparing myself to have to dig your grave 
We’ll both be humbled by the will of God 
And the wrath of your disease 
But how could any man have to be so brave 
To know that nothing can be done 
For the father of a Reckless Son 

Alone inside a family where we pass around the blame 
You can keep your interventions, all you gave me was my name 

Waiting for the moment where I can meet you with my fists 
But punishing myself was the only thorn that I could twist 

Cause you can’t hide me from my own hands 
Or lift me from my knees 
But you’re preparing yourself to have to walk away 
We’ll both be humbled by the will of God, 
And the power of our needs 
And all that’s left for you to do is pray 
For all the battles that you’ve won 
You’re the father of a reckless son 

And I know you’ve had to see me walk into the rain 
And you knew you couldn’t pull me back 
But your love was never shown to me in vain 
You put your arms around me and the walls begin to crack 

But I know I’m the only one 
Who can do what must be done 
So with every breath in my lungs 
Hear the promise of a Reckless Son

I sit and think of you 
When I don’t know what to do 
And I ask you for a sign or for a song 
Are you listening to me when I’m praying on my knees? 
Cause I’m not weak but I’m not feeling very strong 
So I hold on tight to my peace of mind 
And tell myself my life has just begun 
But when I close my eyes, and I’m too tired to cry 
I still wonder why I’m here and why you’re gone 

Can you tell me what went wrong? 
Cause I don’t believe that you’d just let go 
That you’d just stop fighting back 
Thought you were coming along 
Least that’s how it seemed but I guess I’ll never know 
And now you aint coming back 
But I can’t keep looking back 

It aint for me to understand 
The big picture or the plan 
That puts an end to life that’s still so young 
And I know I was a friend, 
And I offered you a hand 
But tell me was there something more I should have done? 

I should have known that something was wrong 
I didn’t wanna believe that you’d just let go 
That you could just stop fighting back 

You know you weren’t alone 
And I wish you could see just how much you were loved 
And how much we want you back 
But I can’t keep looking back 

So I’ll just let go 
Of all the tears I’m fighting back 
Because the road is long and I’ve gotta believe that I’ve still got miles to go 
And there’s no turning back 
And I can’t keep looking back