[Verse 1]

This is a first-rate town but all you ever notice

Are the ways it's stretched too far

And it has been knocked down, well, some of us are still left here between the scars

When you look around, all you ever notice is you cannot see the stars

This is a first-rate town, a first-rate town you know

You just can't see very far

[Verse 2]

When the last door closed, you packed your clothes

And went back to Montreal

Said, "It was colder there," a chill hangs in the air

It helps you forget it all

You left an empty bookshelf that I didn't fill till fall

This is a first-rate town, a first-rate town you know

You just can't see it at all

[Bridge]

Well it will fade as all things must

I loved you but you didn't love me enough

Winter comes, the car will rust

I'll start it up, then always run a little rough

[Verse 3]

This is a first-rate town and all you ever notice

Are the ways it's stretched too far

They keep the death rates down

It's colder than a winter spent in defrosting cars

We talked a lot of leaving, didn't think you'd get that far

This is a first-rate town, a first-rate town you know

You just can't see very far