(kirsty maccoll/johnny marr)
Walking down madison - I swear I never had a gun
No I never shot no-one - I was only having fun
Walking down madison - swear I never had a gun
I was philosophizing some
Checking out the bums
See you give em your nickels, your pennies and dimes
But you cant give em hope in these mercenary times, oh no
And you feel real guilty about the coat on your back
And the sandwich you had, oh no
From an uptown apartment to a knife on the a train
Its not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
Its not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep in the park
Oh no its not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if youd like to
Walking down madison - I swear I never had a gun
No I never shot no-one - wouldnt do it just for fun
Walking down madison - trying to keep my head screwed on
I was philosophizing some
Checking out the nuns
When you get to the corner dont look at those freaks
Keep your head down low and stay quick on your feet, oh yeah
The beaming boy from harlem with the airforce coat
The ones who died
The ones who tried
The ones that sit and gloat
From an uptown apartment to a knife on the a train
Its not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
Its not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep on the church steps
Its not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if youd like to
Within every city and town theres a madison
Frozen lives for whom nothings happening
Hungry children is a mothers dilemma
Dumpster diving to feed her baby emma
So you walk on by like it doesnt affect you
The held out hand that you pay no respect to
Nickels and dimes wont even buy your guilt
Another wino burnt to death in his quilt
Its a cardboard city, newspaper metropolis
The system cant cope or keep on top of this
The authorities come as youre not for display
Do they solve the problem no they move him away
Theyre in a vicious circle of no fixed abode
The social wont pay em the money theyre owed
When youve got no money you cant pay rent
Hypothermia kills cos the system is bent
From an uptown apartment to a knife on the a train
Its not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
Its not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep in the park
Oh no its not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if youd like to
From an uptown apartment to a knife on the a train
Its not that far
From the sharks in the penthouse to the rats in the basement
Its not that far
To the bag lady frozen asleep on the church steps
Its not that far
Would you like to see some more?
I can show you if youd like to
In the subway sits a vacuous man
His grip on life is a bent tin can
Its a holy shrine where he burns his light
It makes things easy and removes his plight
For an hour or two but he cant escape
Theyre all penned in with government tape
There are good samaritans who bring the soup
The sally army with their bibles and boots
You can see yourself as its not too far
One short trip you dont who they are
Till the night comes then it all comes back
Like the smell of patchouli and the armies of rats
Its a shame to be human its a human shame
It seems weve forgotten were one and the same
