Near misses on the dogleap stairways
French kisses in the darkened doorways
A foghorn blowing out wild and cold
A policeman shines a light upon my shoulder
Up comes a coaster fast and silent in the night
Over my shoulder all you can see are the pilot lights
No money in our jackets and our jeans are torn
Your hands are cold but your lips are warm
She can see him on the jetty where they used to go
She can feel him in the places where the sailors go
When she's walking by the river and the railway line
She can still hear him whisper
Let's go down to the waterline
You can take away my mind like you take away the top of a tin
When you come up from behind and lay it down cold on my skin
Took a stone from my soul when I was lame
Just so you could make me tame
You take away my mind like you take away the top of a tin
I'd like to be free of it now - I don't want it no more
I'd like to be free of it now - you know I don't want it no more
Everybody got a knife it can be just what they want it to be
A needle a wife or something that you just can't see
You know it keeps you strong
Yes and it'll do me wrong
Your six blade knife - do anything for you
I've been too long lonely and my heart feels pain
Crying out for some soothing rain
I believe I have taken enough
I need a little water of love
Water of love deep in the ground
No water here to be found
Some day baby when the river runs free
It'll carry that water of love to me
There's a bird up in a tree sitting up high
Waiting for me to die
If I don't get some water soon
I'll be dead and gone in the afternoon
Once I had a woman I could call my own
Once I had a woman now my woman is gone
Once there was a river now there's a stone
You know it's evil when you're living alone
And my conductress on the number nineteen
She was a honey
Pink toenails and hands all dirty with money
Greasy hair easy smile
Made me feel nineteen for a while
Amd wI went down to Chinatown
In the backroom it's a man's world
All the money go down
Duck inside the doorway gotta duck to eat
Right now feels alright now
You and me we can't beat
And a gogo dancing girl yes I saw her
The deejay he say here's Mandy for ya
I feel alright to see her
But she's paid to do that stuff
She's dancing high I move on by
The close ups can get rough
When you're walking in the wild west end
You step inside but you don't see too many faces
Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down
Too much competition too many other places
But not too many horns can make that sound
Way on downsouth way on downsouth London town
You check out Guitar George he knows all the chords
Mind he's strictly rhythm he doesn't want to make it cry or sing
And an old guitar is all he can afford
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing
And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene
He's got a daytime job he's doing alright
He can play honky tonk just like anything
Saving it up for Friday night
With the Sultans with the Sultans of Swing
And a crowd of young boys they're fooling around in the corner
Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles
They don't give a damn about any trumpet playing band
It ain't what they call rock and roll
And the Sultans played Creole
And then the man he steps right up to the microphone
And says at last just as the time bell rings
'Thank you goodnight now it's time to go home'
and he makes it fast with one more thing
'We are the Sultans of Swing'
Church bell clinging on trying to get a crowd for Evensong
Nobody cares to depend upon the chime it plays
They're all in the station praying for trains
Cogregations late again
It's getting darker all the time these flagpole days
Drunk old soldier he gives her a fright
He's crazy lion howling for a fight.
Strap hanging gunshot sound
Doors slamming on the overground
Starlings are tough but the lions are made of stone
Her evening paper is horror torn
But there's hope later for Capricorns
Her lucky stars give her just enough to get home
Then she's reading about a swing to the right
But she's thinking about a stranger in the night
I'm thinking about the lions tonight
What happened to the lions.
yea now what's the matter with you baby
baby what's the matter now
what's the matter your running in the shadows
everytime you hear the wild man yell
come on tell me what's the matter with you baby
baby what's the matter now
what's the matter your running in the shadows
everytime you hear the wild man yell
now lightnings going to strike at midnight
thunder going to shake the ground
don't you flinch don't give a inch
just a let the flood come down
come on tell me what's the matter with you baby
baby what's the matter now
what's the matter your running in the shadows
everytime you hear the wild man yell
come on tell me what's the matter with you baby
baby what's the matter now
what's the matter your running in the shadows
everytime you here the wildman yell
In a screaming ring of faces I seen her standing in the light
She had a ticket for the races just like me she was a victim of the
night
I put a hand upon the lever said let it rock and let it roll
I had the one arm bandit fever there was an arrow through my heart
and my soul
And the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
And I'm just high on the world
Come on and take a low ride with me girl
On the tunnel of love
It's just the danger when you're riding at your own risk
She said you are the perfect stranger she said baby let's keep it like
this
It's just a cake walk twisting baby step right up and say
Hey mister give me two give me two cos any two can play
And the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
And I'm just high on the world
Come on and take a low ride with me girl
On the tunnel of love
Well it's been money for muscle another whirligig
Money for muscle and another girl I dig
Another hustle just to make it big
And rockaway rockaway
And girl it looks so pretty to me just like it always did
Like the spanish city to me when we were kids
Oh girl it looks so pretty to me just like it always did
Like the spanish city to me when we were kids
She took off a silver locket she said remember me by this
She put her hand in my pocket I got a keepsake and a kiss
And in the roar of the dust and diesel I stood and watched her walk
away
I could have caught up with her easy enough but something must have
made me stay
And the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
And I'm just high on the world
Come on and take a low ride with me girl
On the tunnel of love
And now I'm searching through these carousels and the carnival arcades
Searching everywhere from steeplechase to palisades
In any shooting gallery where promises are made
To rockaway rockaway from cullercoats and whitley bay out to rockaway
And girl it looks so pretty to me like it always did
Like the spanish city to me when we were kids
Girl it looks so pretty to me like it always did
Like the spanish city to me when we were kids