Passing through

When i was just a little boy
I played with another wretch
We'd go down to the union canal
To see what we could catch
Cast the hook, line and sinker
Then sit down and wish
No barges passed this way no more
Nor did any fish
How do you do
Can't stop now
We're just passing through

The wasteland was our playground
And the railway-track
I told my friend one day i'd leave
And never would come back
We'd watch those trucks a-rolling past
Never stopping at our station
I never knew from where they came
Nor their destination
How do you do
Can't stop now
We're just passing through

Then the excavations
Were started here one day
Before i could spell 'envirament'
They'd built a motorway
Now we have a flyover
And an under pass
Railway trains and open drains
Does no one think of us?
How do you do
Can't stop now
We're just passing through

I left that place in '75
And never did return
Ain't got no time for nostalg'a
For any bridges i have burned
But once i passed on that motorway
And at the concrete i did stare
I wondered if my childhood friend
Was still living there