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Russell Roman took his brand new bride
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Across the threshold to their brand new life
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With very little money in his jeans
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And a hundred million dollars worth of dreams
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He took a job a the Congress Union Bank
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Worked hard to get ahead but drew a blank
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One day they paid him off and sent him home
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Then he swore he'd build an empire of his own
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Through the years he worked and dreamed of a Roman empire
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And he left his pretty young wife all alone
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She didn't share his dreams of a Roman empire
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All she dreamed of was a family and a home
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Hard work and patience brought him wealth and fame
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And he thought he was a winner in life's game
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Their empire stretched from Maine to Mexico
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She had everything but what she needed most
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When at last her loneliness had run it's coarse
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The judge granted Mrs. Roman her divorce
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Now Russell Roman's empire seemed so small
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And as lifeless as the Rembrandts on the wall
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The rise and the fall of the Roman empire
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Is a lesson for the likes of you and me
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The rise and the fall of the Roman empire
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Is just another page in history
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Russell Roman took the same sweet bride
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Across the threshold for the second time
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With very little money in his jeans
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And not one single dollar in his dreams
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That's the fall and the rise of the Roman empire
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He gave their fortune to an orphans home
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The fall and the rise of the Roman empire
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Now his empire is his family and his home