[Intro]
C G F G F C
 
[Verse 1]
C              G           F                       C
Everything is slower here, everybody's got a union card
C                            G
They get up on Sunday, go to church of their choice
F                               C
Come back home, cook out in the backyard
 
[Chorus]
Am                     G
And they call this the Great Midwest
F                            C
Where the cornfields grow and flow
Am                    G
They're all 5 years ahead of their time
F                           G
Or 25 behind, I just don't know
 
[Verse 2]
C                                      G
And all the young men talk about their 4 wheel drives
F                                     C
How much money they're gonna make on Friday night
C                                     G
And they like to brag about how they mistreat their girlfriends
F                                         C
Hey, let's get drunk, party it up, start a fight
 
[Chorus]
Am                      G
And they call this the Great Midwest
F                   C
Sure make a hell of a car
Am                         G
And the old hearts, they race their way through the night
F                           G
The upheaval of who they really are
 
[Verse 3]
C                G                  F              C
Growin' up under normal conditions, television and radio
C                             G
That's just about all of this whole world
F                          C
That any of us get to see, get to know
 
[Chorus]
Am                      G
And they call this the Great Midwest
F                            C
Where you sacrifice body and soul
Am                          G
No one really wants to get even
F                                    G
Most of us find it hard enough just lettin' go
 
[Bridge]
F                           G
Don't get me wrong, I ain't complaining
F                                 G
I ain't braggin', nor do I mean to place blame
F                            G
That's just the way things are around here
Am                          F
And there's a future carryin' my name on it
Am                                               F
Sayin' hey man, you gonna stick around here you better get on it
Am                      F
If you're gonna stick around here
F                              G
You better make yourself some real good friends
 
[Verse 4]
C                            G
Well, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth
F                                 G
So I can't talk about the big city hi-life
C                                    G
You wanna talk about bein' bored and runnin'
                         F                      G
Away from yourself, hell, I can talk to you all night
 
[Chorus]
Am                        G
And they call this the Great Midwest
F                        C
Where livin' is just gettin' by
Am                               G
And people, they trade in their happiness
F                                         G
For a smokestack, a big money deal in the sky
 
[Outro]
C G F G F C