Reeperbahn
by Tom Waits
lyricscopy.com
Around the curve of The Parrot Bar
A broken-down old movie star
Hustling and Easterner
Bringing out the beast in her
A high dive on a swimming pool
Filled with needles and with fools
The memories are short but the tales are long
When you´re in the Reeperbahn
Oh, they called her Rosie when she was a girl
For her bright red cheeks and her strawberry curls
When she would laugh the river would run
She said she´d be a comedian
Oh what a pity, oh what a shame
When she said, ´come calling´, nobody came
Now her bright red cheeks are painted on
And she´s laughing her head off in the Reeperbahn
Now little Hans was always strange
Wearing womens underthings
His father beat him but he wouldn´t change
He ran off with a man one day
Now his lingerie is all the rage
In the black on every page
His father proudly calls his name
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Now if you´ve lost your inheritance
And all you´ve left is common sense
And you´re not too picky about the crowd you keep
Or the mattress where you sleep
Behind every window, behind every door
The apple has gone but there´s always the core
And the seeds will sprout up right through the floor
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Down there in the Reeperbahn
A broken-down old movie star
Hustling and Easterner
Bringing out the beast in her
A high dive on a swimming pool
Filled with needles and with fools
The memories are short but the tales are long
When you´re in the Reeperbahn
Oh, they called her Rosie when she was a girl
For her bright red cheeks and her strawberry curls
When she would laugh the river would run
She said she´d be a comedian
Oh what a pity, oh what a shame
When she said, ´come calling´, nobody came
Now her bright red cheeks are painted on
And she´s laughing her head off in the Reeperbahn
Now little Hans was always strange
Wearing womens underthings
His father beat him but he wouldn´t change
He ran off with a man one day
Now his lingerie is all the rage
In the black on every page
His father proudly calls his name
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Now if you´ve lost your inheritance
And all you´ve left is common sense
And you´re not too picky about the crowd you keep
Or the mattress where you sleep
Behind every window, behind every door
The apple has gone but there´s always the core
And the seeds will sprout up right through the floor
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Down there in the Reeperbahn
Down there in the Reeperbahn