Artist: Billy Joel Album: The Nylon Curtain Song: Allentown Year: 1982 Top Chart Position: #17

Well we're living here in Allentown And they're closing all the factories down Out in Bethlehem they're killing time Filling out forms Standing in line Well our fathers fought the Second World War Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore Met our mothers in the USO Asked them to dance Danced with them slow And we're living here in Allentown But the restlessness was handed down And it's getting very hard to stay Well we're waiting here in Allentown For the Pennsylvania we never found For the promises our teachers gave If we worked hard If we behaved So the graduations hang on the wall But they never really helped us at all No they never taught us what was real Iron and coke And chromium steel And we're waiting here in Allentown But they've taken all the coal from the ground And the union people crawled away Every child has a pretty good shot To get at least as far as their old man got But something happened on the way to that place They threw an American flag in our place Well I'm living here in Allentown And it's hard to keep a good man down But I won't be getting up today And we're living here in Allentown

This song is about the decline and the effects of the decline of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Located in eastern Pennsylvania, Allentown was once a major industrial and manufacturing city. When the economy moved from that sort of economy, producing "iron and coke and chromium steel," to a more technologically based economy, many people were left unemployed. During the time immediately following World War II, one could have a high school diploma or less and still have the prospect of a well-paying job. When the economic base shifted, those people not educated for technical jobs were left behind.