I was raised in the ranks, mama, till I was a teen
Every day I heard a radio
Every night I had the same old dream
To sing a song, oh baby
To watch my name in lights, oh yeah
If you wanna see a dream come true
Honey child, you gotta get right down and fight, uh-huh

Well, I sailed cross the ocean blue
Felt so all alone
Many times I thought about goin' right back home
But the joy I found in song gave me the will to carry on

(chorus)
So I say, live your life
The way you want to
Don't let fools lead you astray
Live your dream so you hold on to
All you'll need along the way

I've paid my dues right here in the land of the free
All the time I've learned to sing along
I could not speak and I could barely see
Still all the while I knew where I was at, oh yeah
But the people that believed in me
Oh, I could count'em all, in seconds flat, uh-huh

Well, someday I would be, I knew it all along
A gentleman of leisure, girl, right or wrong
And though my dream has come and gone
There's plenty more where those came from, uh-huh

(repeat chorus 2x)