Right through the middle of our town A two lane, two way highway comes rollin' down It used to be quite busy around here But then they put a mall out there And the freeway came last year Nobody stops here anymore, they're only passing through There's nothing much to look at And there's nothing here to do Just an old newspaper blowin' at my feet Down on main street Old Mr. Arnold finally sold the store He started out on main street back before the war He says business wasn't booming anyway He says he and that old neighborhood Have seen their better days But he remembers how it was in 1945 When they marched out all the boys who made it home alive And the girls were throwin' roses at their feet Down on main street Down on main street they're sellin memories real low Goin' out of business – everything must go Like old forgotten faces without names The storefronts and the sidewalks And the boarded window frames And there's the corner record store Where I discovered rock n' roll so many hears before And I listen for the sound I listen for the rhythm in the heart of this old town I listen for the slow and steady beat Down on main street