Verse 1 Black and white TV, rabbit ears and Kennedy Vinyl spinning 45s, moonshot in July Woodstock mud and Vietnam, marching bands and napalm Summer nights and muscle cars, jukebox in the bar Berlin Wall graffiti lines, disco balls and picket signs Reaganomics, MTV, Cold War anxiety Pac-Man and the arcade glow, boom boxes and radio We were young and bulletproof, running toward the truth Pre-Chorus Every headline, every spark Lit a fire in the dark Chorus We were dancing to the same old flame Different years but the song’s the same Every generation tries to change the game But we’re all just calling out a name From the backseat dreams to the freedom train Through the tears and the ticker tape parade We didn’t light it, but we felt the heat And we sang our hearts out in the street Verse 2 Dial-up tones and Y2K, towers falling, September day Shock and awe on cable news, flags and worn-out boots MySpace pages, razor phones, text me when you get back home Facebook walls and viral fame, fifteen seconds for a name Housing crash and picket lines, hope and change in changing times Hashtags on a cardboard sign, truth in short supply Streaming shows and headphones on, protest chants at the break of dawn We were scrolling through the night, looking for a light Pre-Chorus Every headline, every spark Still a fire in the dark Chorus We were dancing to the same old flame Different years but the song’s the same Every generation tries to change the game But we’re all just calling out a name From the backseat dreams to the freedom train Through the tears and the ticker tape parade We didn’t light it, but we felt the heat And we sang our hearts out in the street Bridge (Storytelling — slow it down) I met you under stadium lights Half-time band on a Friday night World was spinning way too fast But somehow we made it last All those headlines fade away But I still hear the records play Final Chorus (bigger, with attitude) We were dancing to the same old flame History’s a different verse, same refrain Every generation bears the blame But we’re all just trying to stake a claim From the fallout fear to the champagne rain Through the loss and the love and the hurricane We didn’t start it, we just came And we’re still dancing to the same old flame
