Ellis Island (Marc Cohn Cover)

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    Ellis Island

    Ellis Island (Marc Cohn Cover)

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written by Marc Cohn (Burnin' The Daze : 1998, marccohn.net)

lyrics:

I was driving down ninth avenue / as the sky was getting dark / I didn't have nothing else to do / so I kept on riding to Battery park / I stepped out in the damp and misty night / as the fog was rolling in / man said boat leaving tonight is the boat for Ellis Island // As my feet touched solid ground / I felt a chill roll down my spine / I could almost hear the sound of thousands pushing through line / Mothers and bewildered wives that sailed across the raging sea / others running for their lives to the land of opportunity / Down on Ellis Island // What is this strange paradise / they must have wandered through the cries and moans / their faith, their families, their friends and homes // Then on the separation stairs they were counted out or counted in / frozen while the inspector stared / down on Ellis Island // Now me I only stumbled in just to wander around this empty hall / Where someone else's fate had been decided in no time at all / cases filled with hats and clothes and belongings of those who journeyed far/ They're strange reminders I suppose of where we're from and who we are / but as the boat pulled off the shore I could see the fog was lifting / and lights I'd never seen before/ were shining down on Ellis Island /