Back in the old folky days
The air was magic when we played.
The riverboat was rockin´
in the rain
Midnight was the time
for the raid.

Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela,
They tore you down and
plowed you under.
You´re only real
with your make-up on
How could I see you
and stay too long?

All along the Navajo Trail,
Burn-outs stub their toes
on garbage pails.
Waitresses are cryin´
in the rain
Will their boyfriends
pass this way again?

Oh, Mother Goose,
she´s on the skids
Shoe ain´t happy,
neither are the kids.
She needs someone
that she can scream at
And I´m such a heel
for makin´ her feel so bad.

I guess I´ll call it
sickness gone
It´s hard to say
the meaning of this song.
An ambulance can only
go so fast
It´s easy to get buried
in the past
When you try to make
a good thing last.

I saw today
in the entertainment section
There´s room at the top
for private detection.
To Mom and Dad
this just doesn´t matter,
But it´s either that
or pay off the kidnapper.

So all you critics sit alone
You´re no better than me
for what you´ve shown.
With your stomach pump and
your hook and ladder dreams
We could get together
for some scenes.

I never knew a man
could tell so many lies
He had a different story
for every set of eyes.
How can he remember
who he´s talkin´ to?
´Cause I know it ain´t me,
and I hope it isn´t you.

Well, I´m up in T.O.
keepin´ jive alive,
And out on the corner
it´s half past five.
But the subways are empty
And so are the cafes.

Except for the Farmer´s Market
And I still can hear him say:
You´re all just pissin´
in the wind
You don´t know it but you are.

And there ain´t nothin´
like a friend
Who can tell you
you´re just pissin´
in the wind.

I never knew a man
could tell so many lies
He had a different story
for every set of eyes
How can he remember
who he´s talking to?
Cause I know it ain´t me,
and hope it isn´t you.