[Verse 1] I came back in November rain, one brown suitcase, one old coat. Delancey smelled of coffee grounds, wet brick, gasoline and smoke. The tailor’s sign was painted over, the bakery was gone by then. But I knew the cracks beside the doorway like the faces of old friends. [Verse 2] A boy bounced a ball against the wall where Benny used to stand. A woman shook a rug above me, someone cursed a delivery van. Then somewhere under all that traffic a clarinet played three low notes. I stopped like I’d been called by name by somebody I’d buried long ago. [Chorus] Back on Delancey, too late to change the score. Every window held a memory, every stairway held a door. Back on Delancey, where we learned to steal and pray. I spent forty years escaping just to come back anyway. [Verse 3] Rosie’s fire escape was painted green instead of rusted red. Sammy’s corner had a pharmacy. Benny’s bar sold magazines instead. I touched the wall beside the alley, cold as winter, hard as truth. A man can leave the neighborhood. He never really leaves his youth. [Outro] Three notes. One street. Forty years.
