Entering Marion

[Verse 1]
Every year I drive out to Cape Cod for the last part of June
Leave the city by 10 and you're there in the late afternoon
On the way there's a village called Marion that you pass through
The first time I approached it I'll always remember the sign that came into view

[Chorus 1]
It said
Entering Marion
And I thought
What a fun little sign
But the feeling of entering Marion
Had a kick that was hard to define
A rapturous rush
A physical flush
Chills up and down the spine
For the few minutes I was in Marion
All Massachusetts was mine

[Spoken]
Well, it got to be kind of an annual thing
The event that would start each vacation off with a bang!

[Verse 2]
Well one year who knows why I decided to try a new route
So I got out a map and I traced one I thought was a beaut'
After driving all morning I came to the top of a hill
Where a sign stood before me that promised a new kind of thrill

[Chorus 2]
It said
Entering Beverly
Which was lovely and not overbuilt
And the pleasures of entering Beverly
Far outweighed any feelings of guilt
I could say I'm contrite
But it wouldn't be right
For the truth is that later that day
I found myself entering Sharon
It was there
So was I
We enjoyed it, hey what can I say?

[Bridge]
By the next year I'd try any route for novelty's sake
I was cursed with a thirst that no single township could slake
Oh at the wheel I was calm but inside I was running amok
When a sign in the road dead ahead sent me straight into shock

[Chorus 3]
Entering Lawrence
My God, I was out of control
And I'd no sooner finished with Lawrence
Than boom, I was entering Lowell!
I backtracked and reentered Lawrence
Then Quincy and Norton as well
Around midnight I pulled into Athol
And flopped in a fleabag motel

[Bridge 2]
I slept fitfully in my clothing
And awoke in a pool of sweat and self-loathing
Lying there feeling lower than carrion
A name came clear as a clarion
I jumped in my car
And before very far

[Verse 3]
I was entering Marion
How totally wonderfully great
How grand to be entering Marion
After tramping all over the state

[Outro]
Every sleazebucket 'burb
Every tryst by the curb
Had really just helped me to find
I'm happiest entering Marion
I guess I'm the Marion kind
I guess I'm the Marion kind