Ellis Island

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I was driving down Ninth Avenue 
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As the sky was getting dark 
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Didn't have nothin' else to do 
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So I kept on riding to Battery Park 
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I stepped out in the damp and misty night 
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As the fog was rollin' in 
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Man said, "Last boat leaving tonight 
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Is the boat for Ellis Island 
 
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As my feet touched solid ground, 
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I felt a chill run down my spine 
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I could almost hear the sound 
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Of thousands pushing through the lines 
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Mothers and bewildered wives 
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That sailed across the raging sea 
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Others runnin' for their lives 
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To the land of opportunity 
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Oh down on Ellis Island 
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What is this strange paradise 
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They must've wondered through the cries and moans 
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After all they sacrificed, 
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Their faith, their families, friends and homes 
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Then on the separation stairs 
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They were counted out, or counted in 
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Frozen while the inspector stared 
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Down on Ellis Island 
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Oh down on Ellis Island 
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Who-o-oh     yea-a-ah 
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Now me I only stumbled in 
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Just to wander around that empty hall 
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Where someone else's fate had been 
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Decided in no time at all 
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Cases filled with hats and clothes 
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And the belongings of those who journeyed far 
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They're strange reminders I suppose 
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Of where we're from and who we are 
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But as the boat pulled off the shore 
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I could see the fog was lifting 
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And lights I'd never seen before 
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Were shining down on Ellis Island 
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Shining down on Ellis Island 
 
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Atlantic Records 1997 
Museum Steps Music(ASCAP)