I went downtown walkin' on the pavement
Talked to the bum 'bout overthrowin' the government
Big shot no more / smokestack / sidewalk
An' I can't take much more !
generation nowhere in our own country
Outside the mainstream, we all dissipate 
I'll back a man but it brings me down
An' I can't take much more !

I been up, I been down
All my friends are underground
I been up, I been down
I can see things clearly now
I said "Up!" - I said "Up"! 

 [bad word]  with [bad word] through my bloodstream
Underneath the stairway, I hear the gypsies scream
Brimstone hurricane, lost in the acid rain
An' I can't take much more !
Deadlines, on-time, hangin' on a clothesline
Down on the street, where they're lookin' for a mainline
Asphalt concrete is dangerous it's a sin
An' I can't take much more !

I been up, I been down,
All my friends [bad word] and gone
I been up, I been down
I can see things clearly now
I said "Up!", ohhh, I said "Up!"

I been up, I been down
All my friends are undergound
I been up, I been down
I can see things clearly now
I been up, I been down,
All my friends [bad word] and gone
I been up, I been down
I can see things clearly now
I been up

Listen to the radio, don't know where to go
Ridin' on a cyclone, anywhere the wind blows
Downbeat / sidewalk, can't hear myself talk
An' I can't take much more !