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Why Should People Stay The Same?
by Harry Chapin

You were chasing him down Broadway on that white-hot July,
'Cause he thought he'd got a message from some holy man on high.
He said his chance had finally come; he'd done it on his own,
He had to leave his past behind; the first thing that had to go--was home.

You put him in an aeroplane and packed your life and clothes,
You learned all the lessons that the suitcase lady knows.
He said, "Something still drags me back from where I'm heading to,"
You didn't really understand, 'til the next thing that had to go--was you.

Some things are sacrificed and some things remain,
Some things bring pleasure and some things bring pain.
Some things must pass away, and some things are regained,
When the whole world is changing, why should people stay the same?

You saw his picture in the paper, that disarming boyish smile,
You sometimes had to swallow hard as you saw him on the dial.
You heard him on a talk show, he was hearing no one else,
Then suddenly you knew too well, the last thing he'd left behind--was himself.

Some things are sacrificed and some things remain,
Some things bring pleasure and some things bring pain.
Some things must pass away, and some things are regained,
When the whole world is changing, why should people stay the same?

So you pulled yourself together, friends and family said you should,
You discovered you were doing things you never knew you could.
And someday when he calls you, which you know of course he'll do,
You'll just send him away again, 'cause the last thing you finally found--was you.

Harry's Music

Bottom Line Encore Collection       [Amazon] [iTunes] Dance Band On The Titanic*       [Amazon] [iTunes] Essentials       [Amazon] Gold Medal Collection       [Amazon] [iTunes] Greatest Stories Live*       [Amazon] [iTunes] Harry Chapin Tribute       [Amazon] Heads & Tales       [Amazon] [iTunes] Last Protest Singer       [Amazon] Legends Of Lost & Found*       [iTunes] Living Room Suite       [Amazon] [iTunes] On The Road To Kingdom Come       [Amazon] [iTunes] Portrait Gallery       [Amazon] [iTunes] Sequel       [iTunes] Short Stories       [Amazon] [iTunes] Sniper & Other Love Songs       [Amazon] [iTunes] Story of a Life       [Amazon] Verities & Balderdash       [Amazon] [iTunes] * = Highly Recommended

The Latest Release

Sniper & Other Love Songs   [iTunes] In 1972, Harry released Sniper & Other Love Songs. Thirty years would pass before the album would ever reach the CD format. Sniper was finally re-released in June, 2002. Originally given a working title of Sweet City Suite, the album tells the story of various characters one might run into in a city. The album features the original studio versions of Chapin classics "A Better Place to Be" and "Circle." But perhaps more importantly (as those songs are already well-distributed on compilation CDs), the album features seemingly lost Chapin stories, including "And the Baby Never Cries," "Burning Herself," "Barefoot Boy," and "Woman Child." Sniper is for the seasoned Chapin fan. New fans would do better to check out Greatest Stories Live. But for Chapin fans who have reached the level of the Dance Band on the Titanic album, this is the next step. Slightly over-produced and having a little of the "forced" feel that some of Harry's studio albums possess, this album does not capture the powerfully live Harry Chapin. Nonetheless, it captures Harry's great iconoclastic songwriting--Harry takes the story song to new heights here. But the album works best for those ready for it; don't buy it until you are ready to appreciate it!