City Drops into the Night

Jim Carroll Band
 Catholic Boy
 City Drops Into The Night
 It's when Billy's whores are workin'
 They're workin' with the skeleton crew
 It's when the sky over Jersey
 That sky starts to drain from view
 It's when my woman pawns her voice so
 So she can make her old excuses sound new
 But I just want one clue
 Refrain:
 'Cause when the city drops into the night
 Before the darkness there's one moment of light
 When everything seems clear
 The other side, it seems so near
 What seemed wrong?
 I think it's gonna be just about right
 Before the city drops, the city drops
 Into the night
 It's when the door to the River
 That door is like 26 miles
 It's when ambitious little girls start
 They start to dream about a change in style
 It's when the slick boys got their fingers
 They got their fingers in the telephone dial
 But I think I'll just wait a while
 Repeat Refrain
 It's when the sneak thieves are checkin'
 They're checkin the alleys for unlocked doors
 And Billy's sister's gettin' frantic 'cause
 'Cause Billy's sister's little brother can't score
 It's when the woman from the dream is . . .
 Oh my God! That's the woman on the floor
 Each promise was just one promise more
 Repeat Refrain
 It's when Teddy's ghost is on the roof
 Beatin' his drum
 And Teddy's best friend is two blocks East
 And he's makin' Teddy's ex-girlfriend come
 You know, they mistook Teddy's blind trust . . .
 Just to prove that Teddy was dumb . . .
 But listen, you know, I think they are both just scum
 Repeat Refrain
 It's when the body at the bottom,
 That body is my own reflection
 But it ain't hip to sink that low
 Unless you're gonna make a resurrection
 They're always gonna come to your door
 They're gonna say, "It's just a routine inspection"
 But what you get when you open your door
 What you get is just another injection
 And there's always gonna be one more
 With just a little bit less until the next one
 They wait in shadows and steal the light from your eyes
 To them vision's just some costly infection
 But listen, you should come with me
 I'm the fire, I'm the fire's reflection
 I'm just a constant warning to take the other direction
 Mister, I am your connection
 Repeat Refrain
 Copyright Earl McGrath Music/Jim Carroll Music ASCAP (1980)