[Verse 1] Back in town for a couple days The bakery has somebody else's name But Mr. Lee still sweeps the step And asks if Mom has got her fence fixed yet I came to see how much had changed He sent me home with rolls and called me by my name [Pre-Chorus] Every street can take me somewhere new Every turn still has a little truth [Chorus] Everybody knows the shortcut Through the park behind the school Past the house where we grew up To the place that knows you too Everybody knows the shortcut Back to who you used to be But I like the way this old town Makes a little room for the new me [Verse 2] I meet a friend beside the gate We used to climb when we were running late He's got a daughter with his grin She asks if we were always grown-up then We laugh and take the longer way Tell her just enough to make her day [Pre-Chorus] Every street can take me somewhere new Every turn still has a little truth [Chorus] Everybody knows the shortcut Through the park behind the school Past the house where we grew up To the place that knows you too Everybody knows the shortcut Back to who you used to be But I like the way this old town Makes a little room for the new me [Bridge - intimate solo vocal, piano and strings] I don't want to turn the clock around I like the life that I've found It's good to have a road somewhere That still remembers how I got from there [Instrumental interlude - orchestra and rhythm section, no vocals] [Final Chorus] Everybody knows the shortcut Through the park behind the school Past the house where we grew up To the place that knows you too Everybody knows the shortcut Back to who you used to be But I like the way this old town Makes a little room for the new me [Outro] Past the park Through the trees A little room for the new me
