Janis Ian Heart Of A City
There stood the observation deck where none had stood before We stared down at the smoking ground and one man took the floor He said "you know, I'm just five blocks from home "I was in it from the start "And they might have struck the flesh and bone "but they did not strike the heart"
'cause the heart of a city is the soul of a man and it runs like a river through the heart of the land You can tear down a building. You can tear down a park You can strike at a symbol, but you can't touch the heart
There were ashes on the windowsills and ashes on the leaves The were ashes on the tongues of everybody who still breathed and flames so high they blocked the sky 'til only cinders flew but the Phoenix rises from the ash and I'll be rising, too The Phoenix rises from the ash and I'll be rising, too
'cause the heart of a city is the soul of a man and it runs like a river through the heart of the land You can tear down a building. You can tear down a park You can strike at a symbol, but you can't touch the heart
I heard the lady's torch across the harbor calling me and a hundred thousand immigrants who came here to be free and I thought about the cowards who were claiming victory Well, if you see them on the street you can tell 'em this for me
'cause the heart of a city is the soul of a man and it runs like a river through the heart of the land You can tear down a building. You can tear down a park You can strike at a symbol, but you can't touch the heart
