Let’s meet in the city where
The rivers cross bridges there
Let’s float down into the stream
Of rich and poor pioneers
A kid from a western town
Wants to be seen and go out
Let’s borrow my parent’s car
Let’s stay out all night up there
And Burnside will be our street
Where the kids and the hookers meet
Diners and strip club junk
Bookstores and punk rock clubs

[Chorus]
Water, building and sin (I’m as green as this blade in the grass that bends)
Big Oregon city draws you in (In the wind that blows on the long weekends)
A promise fulfilled or not (Where I take the bridge to the water fountains)
Just hang on 'til the summer, it's hot (And to gain the hope that the city brings)

We’ll make our home water-tight
Work all day, play all night
And hope we’re not washed away
By deceit or tragedy
And Joan of Arc rules Northeast
Where the poor and the hipsters meet
The grid that divides us all
The river makes final call
Out at the edge of town
Where airfield runs water down
Coyote crosses the tracks
And hops on the Light-Rail Max
[Chorus]
Water, building and sin (I’m as green as this blade in the grass that bends)
Big Oregon city draws you in (In the wind that blows on the long weekends)
A promise fulfilled or not (Where I take the bridge to the water fountains)
Just hang on 'til the summer, it's hot (And to gain the hope that the city brings)

And if you wanna be a friend of mine
Cross the river to the east side
Find me on the eve of suicide
Tell me the city is no place to hide
Take me out into a sunny day
Through the grotto or the promenade
You came to me in the nick of time
Thankful for the things I left behind

Oh dirty river, come let me in
Oh dirty river, come let me in
Oh dirty river, come let me in
Oh dirty river