He was choking back the tears
As he tried to tell his wife
That the job he'd had for years
He'd worked hard all his life
That everything went south
And he couldn't meet the bills
And he had to sell the house
That his daddy built
And he'd ask how such a thing could be happening
But he was sure there was nobody listening
In the Gulf of Mexico
Near the town of New Orleans
Where all the tourists go
In this land of hopes and dreams
Then there came a killer storm
A devastating flood
And the people, they were warned
That it would turn their streets to mud
Sure enough, that storm took everything
And it was like there was nobody listening
In these days of change and mass communication
Seems like no one's plugged into the sounds of desperation
And they say the future's just an extension of the past
And history has knack of comin' back
Now the writer takes his pen
And he tries to find the words
Though time and time again
They often go unheard
And the singer sings his song
And he tries to impart
All the troubles goin' on
Weighin' heavy on his heart
But what good is the song that he has to sing
When nobody's listening?
But I know why he has to try to sing
'Cause he believes that somebody's listening