[Verse 1]
You know my mama sewed clothes for Bertha Wrunklewich
That lady who I always thought was rich
And I considered her with awe and wonder when she came around
And then the summertime we went to Catherine Park
A place where you could have yourself a summer lark
Swimming and spinning on the merry-go-round
'Til the sun went down

[Verse 2]
And I was haunted by the stories about Connie's car
And how she barely got out when it caught on fire
And the trucker came along and he saved her life and she was alright
Now it sits across the way from Hall's Apple Farm
A place that I have carried with me for so long
You can find it if you drive along Red Bud Trail
Through the maple trees
(In the autumn time)

[Chorus]
Beware when you go out there
They'll eat you alive if you don't take care
They have different rules they're using
The American Dream can cause scarring and some nasty bruising
Beware when you go out there
They'll eat you alive if you don't take care
They're using different rules
The American Dream is not for weak soft-hearted fools
[Verse 3]
And all the neighborhood boys
They got them permanent waves
And we walk through the cemetery looking at all the graves
To Thompsons's Market for candy and pop
We did it almost every day
We used to look to see if we could find a patch of green
As the winter came to a close
And spring was blossoming
The ground was coming alive and it smelled so clean

[Chorus]
Beware when you go out there
They'll eat you alive if you don't take care
They have different rules they're using
The American Dream can cause scarring and some nasty bruising
Beware when you go out there
They'll eat you alive if you don't take care
They're using different rules
The American Dream is not for weak soft-hearted fools

[Outro]
And Scotty said softly with some sadness in his voice
"You're just a simple boy from Michigan
And they'll be doing everything they can to win
So please, please don't ever let your guard down
And maybe someday you can come back here again"