I grew up on the sly
In the gutters and the streets of Petersburg
Just a kid on the fly
Getting good at getting by
In Petersburg
I've bartered for a blanket
Stolen for my bread
Learned to take my chances
And use my head
A Russian rat is clever
Clever or he ends up dead
Boils down to
There are some
Who survive
Some who don’t
Some give up
Some give in
Me, I won’t
Black and blue
Welcome to
My Petersburg
Standing here you can see
From the spires to the piers of Petersburg
I'd be down on that quay
Selling stolen souvenirs of Petersburg
The palaces above
And alleyways below
Funny when a city
Is all you know
How even when you hate it
Something in you loves it so
That's where I learned my stuff
In some rough company
There's a boy growing up
Who was me
All I've been
All I'll be
We can do what we're told
We can go where we're lead
But I learned from my father to see what's ahead
Nothing here to hold me
No one that I owe
Funny how a boy can grow
Funny how a city tells you when it's time to go
Boils down to
There are some
Who have walls
Yet to climb
You and I
On the fly
Just in time
But tonight
There’s a sky
And quite a view