Small Change

Well small change got rained on with his own .38

And nobody flinched down by the arcade

And the marquise weren't weeping

They went stark-raving mad

And the cabbies were the only ones

That really had it made

And his cold trousers were twisted,

And the sirens high and shrill

And crumpled in his fist was a five-dollar bill

And the naked mannikins with their

Cheshire grins

And the raconteurs

And roustabouts said buddy

Come on in

Cause the dreams ain't broken down here now

Now ...they're walking with a limp

Now that

Small change got rained on with his own .38"

And nobody flinched down by the arcade

And the burglar alarm's been disconnected

And the newsmen start to rattle

And the cops are tellin' jokes

About some whore house in Seattle

And the fire hydrants plead the 5th Amendment

And the furniture's bargains galore

But the blood is by the jukebox

On an old linoleum floor

And it's a hot rain on 42nd Street

And now the umbrellas ain't got a chance

And the newsboy's a lunatic

With stains on his pants cause

Small change got rained on with his own .38

And no one's gone over to close his eyes

And there's a racing form in his pocket

Circled "Blue Boots" in the 3rd

And the cashier at the clothing store

He didn't say a word as the

Siren tears the night in half

And someone lost his wallet

Well it's surveillance of assailants

If that's whatchawannacallit

And the whores hike up their skirts

And fish for drug-store prophylactics*

With their mouths cut just like

Razor blades and their eyes are like stilettos

And her radiator's steaming

And her teeth are in a wreck

Now she won't let you kiss her

But what the hell do you expect

And the Gypsies are tragic and if you

Wanna to buy perfume, well

They'll bark you down like

Carneys... sell you Christmas cards in June

But...

Small change got rained on with his own .38

And his headstone's

A gumball machine

No more chewing gum

Or baseball cards or

Overcoats or dreams and

Someone is hosing down the sidewalk

And he's only in his teens

Small change got rained on with his own .38

And a fistful of dollars can't change that

And someone copped his watch fob

And someone got his ring

And the newsboy got his porkpie Stetson hat

And the tuberculosis old men

At the Nelson wheeze and cough

And someone will head south

Until this whole thing cools off cause

Small change got rained on with his own .38

Yea small change got rained on with his own .38