Manning Days

Intro 
G C G D 

 
G                           C 
I pulled the car by the Westbrook Mall, 
            G                   D 
But theres nothing left of the jock hall. 
G                           C 
Just an empty lot where the stories grew, 
      G                          D 
And a chain-link fence where the wind blows through. 
G                          C 
No McDonalds run when the bell would ring, 
        G                 D 
Now the silence there says everything. 
G                              C 
The bricks are gone, hauled away in a gear, 
      G                      D 
But I can still see us all standing right here. 
 

 
G                        C 
Remember the courtyard, tucked out of sight? 
    G                          D 
The ghosts of the smoke in the morning light. 
G                             C 
The rebels, the dreamers, the kids in the hall, 
            G                          D 
Now theres nothing but grass where we had it all. 
    G                     C 
And Jock Halls a memory, leveled and flat, 
G                        D 
Funny how a lifetime can change just like that. 
G                       C 
The gym lights have all gone dark, 
      G                               D 
But I can still feel the heat of that Em Fest spark. 
 

 
G                 C 
Oh, Manning, they tore it down, 
           G                     D 
But youre still the heart of this old town. 
         G                      C 
From the ghosts of Jock Hall to the Em Fest lights, 
    G                   D 
The laughter and the humid autumn nights. 
G                        C 
Whatever happened to the girls and the boys? 
G                        D 
Did we find the peace or just more noise? 
G                            C 
Looking back now through the golden haze, 
         G       D           G 
At those Manning high school days. 
 

 
G                     C 
Now Em Fest is just a dance in my mind, 
         G                D 
And were all acting a brand new age. 
G                          C 
I wonder if the quarterbacks still in town, 
          G               D 
Or if the prom queen ever wears her crown. 
G                       C 
Does it matter that the walls are gone to dust? 
         G                      D 
When the people we were are still inside of us? 
G                      C 
I took a walk past the 7-11, 
        G                      D 
Where a blue raspberry slurpee felt like heaven. 
G                             C 
The malls still watching the empty space, 
          G                 D 
Like its looking for a familiar face. 
G                              C 
We didn't know then it was the "good old days," 
   G                            D 
Before the halls vanished in a wrecking-ball haze. 
 

 
G                 C 
Oh, Manning, they tore it down, 
           G                     D 
But youre still the heart of this old town. 
         G                      C 
From the ghosts of Jock Hall to the Em Fest lights, 
    G                   D 
The laughter and the humid autumn nights. 
G                        C 
Whatever happened to the girls and the boys? 
G                        D 
Did we find the peace or just more noise? 
G                            C 
Looking back now through the golden haze, 
         G       D           G 
At those Manning high school days. 
 

Outro 
Em                              C 
Yeah, the dirt is bare where we used to shine, 
G                    D 
Miles away from that Westbrook line. 
Em                        C 
No lockers to lean on, no morning bell 
    G           D            G 
But Manning, we remember you well. 
G                         C 
Yeah, we remember it all. Even after the fall.