text: I was driving through my hometown
  I was just kinda killin time
  When I seen a face staring out of a black velvet painting
  From the window of the five and dime
  I couldnt quite recall the name
  But the pose looked familiar to me
  So I asked the salesgirl Who was that man
  Between the doberman and Bruce Lee ?
  She said Just a local hero
  Local hero she said with a smile
  Yeah a local hero he used to live here for a while
  I met a stranger dressed in black
  At the train station
  He said Son your soul can be saved
  Theres beautiful women nights of low livin
  And some dangerous money to be made
  Theres a big town cross the whiskey line
  And if we turn the right cards up
  They make us boss the devil pays off
  And them folks that are real hard up
  They get their local hero
  Somebody with the right style
  They get their local hero
  Somebody with just the right smile
  Well I learned my job I learned it well
  Fit myself with religion and a story to tell
  First they made me the king then they made me pope
  Then they brought the rope
  I woke to a gypsy girl sayin Drink this
  Well my hands had lost all sensation
  These days Im feeling all right
  Cept I cant tell my courage from my desperation
  From the tainted chalice
  Well I drunk some heady wine
  Tonight Im layin here
  But theres something in my ear
  Sayin theres a little town just beneath the flood line
  Needs a local hero
  Somebody with the right style
  Lookin for a local hero
  Someone with the right smile
  Local hero local hero she said with a smile
  Local hero he used to live here for a while