I'm going back to a time and place

long etched in my memory and so

vividly, that nothing's changed,

won't you come too, it's really neat,

a special street, let's begin like

two new friends,

North Clarkson up to Cates.

You may have noticed the five and ten

where Clarkson intersects Fifth,

a nifty place where childhood dreams

lived, it seemed, from Robin Hood sets

to porcelain pets, let's stop in like

two good friends,

North Clarkson up to Cates.

Just next door was Goodies Shop,

where jukebox and cherry-coke mixed,

so fixed in my mind it almost seems

I hear Ted Weems and the whistling man's

"Heartaches" again, let's drop in like

two steady friends,

North Clarkson up to Cates.

The Ballards owned the house next door,

a two-story gray, all trimmed in white,

a childhood delight for a boy of ten,

latticed coal bins and chain-held doors

waiting to explore, let's crawl in like

two oath-sworn friends,

North Clarkson up to Cates.

It's getting late on this summer day,

long shadows are covering the ground,

and that sound you hear are locust,

to tell us our walk's nearly done

it's been great fun, let's do it again like

two old friends,

North Clarkson up to Cates.