Across from the prison and beside the great lake

Below the rooftops and above the highway

The spirits pay rent on the basements they haunt

And the pages just draw pictures of the things that they want

I cook my dinner on the black top street

I come from the nation of heat

Outside the train station there's a bold painted sign

It says try to be patient, don't forget to choose sides

We got the loudest explosions you've ever heard

We've got two dollar soldiers and ten dollar words

If I didn't own boots I wouldn't need feet

I come from the nation of heat

So swift and so vicious are the carnival rides

And the carnival barker will yell your name for a bribe

We got billboards for love and Japanese cars

It ain't rare to hear the street lights call themselves stars

The more that I learn the more that I cheat

I come from the nation of heat

♪

I've seen skeleton mothers and hungry folks

Across the street from the kitchens that cook dinner the most

Sometimes you hear whispers by the dark of the moon

That we promised too much and gave it too soon

Even our coughs and our fevers compete

I come from the nation of heat

Blocking borders with smiles are immigrant sons

We measure loneliness in miles and misery in tons

There's a straw-hatted man rowing away from the shore

Who says it's a shame they don't let you have slaves here anymore

I'm the ugliest man that you'll ever meet

I come from the nation of heat