Early spring in Hyde Park, Chicago
I turned on the radio
Illinois is losing its population
The property tax is so high and the other problems
I didn’t quite catch
Many people who used to have houses here, careers here
Have kids in school here, are uprooted
Those people who love this city
Have to move to some other places, some better places
Chicago is no longer the third largest city in the U.S.
The radio host said it’s just like people running out
From China and North Korea
They all want to pursue freedom
What? The guest was certainly appalled
By this nonsensical analogy
All right, it’s a radio program, a late night talk
Yeah, he’s a little bit radical, but he just wanted to stress
The fact that Houston is the third largest city now
They must be doing something right
Or is that so? I doubt it, but I have no say in it
I have lived in Chicago for several years
But I have never felt like a Chicagoan
Actually I feel trapped
In such a chill comfort zone
The university library, the intellectual community, the bookstores
The gunshots and strong-arm robberies
All a few blocks away
In early spring, Hyde Park, Chicago
I, too, want to break free to somewhere else
Anywhere