Rusted welcome sign on the side of the road
Reads: "If you lived here you’d already be home"
It ain’t much more than a dot on the map
An old lumber town that never fought its way back
And there’s the mill where my father had worked
Like his father before, but it don’t run anymore
Over the bridge, across the railroad tracks
Time begins to unwind and I begin to relax
It wasn’t always that we saw eye to eye
Me and this town have seen some trials in our time
I cursed her up and down for being too small
For always letting me fall when I’d begin to stand tall
Told everybody I was leaving this place
I’d had enough of the simple, small town taste
And in the end I guess I just felt trapped
The night I finally left town and swore I’d never look back
For fifteen years I was bound to roam
Searching for my long lost home
The more I ran, I realized
You can’t escape your past no matter how you try
‘Cause when the day is done they’ll ask:
“Where do you come from?”
Doesn’t seem that much has changed
A face here and there but the vibe is the same
Blue-collared beaches with aristocrat style
The greatest lakes in the world that stretch for mile after mile
Sing Erie lullabies the sailors well know
From the coast of Huron across to Ontario
While old Superior sits high on her throne
Her Majesty’s waves tell of the shipwrecks they've owned
And on the shores of Michigan
Is where my journey first begun
Learned to swim on that beach
Ever since I’ve been trying for ports out of reach
In the setting sun – that’s where I come from
Lake Michigan – that’s where I come from
Tomorrow morning I’ll be leaving again
This time it feels strange, like I’m losing a friend
I know I said that I’d be going, but hell
I never said that I’d be doing it well
Write in the sand: “Wesley was here”
And watch how the tide makes it all disappear
Back on the road I’ll be ready next time
A stranger asks me in passing ‘bout the roots of my vine
He’ll ask: “Do you miss your hometown, son? What the Ottawans called ‘Masquigon?’”
And I’ll say: “I do, that much is true; gotta get back where those skies are blue
And my spirit runs – that’s where I come from
Lake Michigan – that’s where I come from
In the setting sun – that’s where I come from
Muskegon – that’s where I come from.
