Ambulance Blues

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.