City Lights

Walking down these streets,
all the city lights,they shine so bright tonight.
I see an old man at the corner of the road,
sitting right there in old,shabby clothes.
His wrinkled skin,his frail hands,his bony brow..
i see them all..i feel them all...all under the city lights,they shine so bright..


I pass by the supermarket,the old chinese guy's counting the cash,
I see him pull out the counter...he's so shocked and surprised..
he dials a number..a police number i see..
i see the face of his store assistant..a kid about my age..he looks so scared..
i feel his fear..i know he did it..it shows so clear..
so much desperation....so much poverty. all under the city lights, they shine so bright.

There they go, the punks from my school,paying their cash,
taking those vials..they plunge those needles in. digging deeper..deeper and deeper
i wish i was one of them..they're so "cool",i wish i was,i sure do,
but nah i'm the "good guy" at school,the guy with the grades,the guy with no darker shades..
i feel their cries..i feel their desires..i see their needles..all under the city lights,they shine so bright..

I see a woman, I’ve seen her before. She lives next door.
She's wearing red tonight..such a seductive hue,
she's with another man tonight, man cant she make up her mind,
but it's her job,i guess it's fair,i see her go with him in his big,black car..
i see her fake smile..i see her cosmetics..i see his eyes full of lust..all under the city lights, they shine so bright...

There's the church,with all it's pleasant folk,
There’s the priest,he's a good man I know..
but they all praise a God...a God I cannot see..
A God I question..A God I cannot be..
Nah I'm just me..I feel his faith..I see his hope...all under the city lights, they shine so bright..

I'm at my apartment again..
it's well past midnight..but these city lights..they just wont stop...they shine bright all night...the steel behemoths of this..lifeless city..untold tales..and desperations hidden in big,black cars....i take off my jacket...i switch on the radio..
they're playing "Re Education" for the thousandth time....I switch it off again..the beats in my ears...the rain's lashing at the window..but these city lights,...they shine so bright..

I take the pen and sit at my desk..just one last verse..just one last line..
I can't figure it out...it's beyond my grasp..i turn the pages..i find a picture..
i look at that smile..those ivory eyes..the faint dimple..and now i know...i know my last verse..i know my last line...i write it down...and as i scribble down the title"City Lights"...i admire my work..but the poison is taking it's toll....the city lights..they don’t shine so bright any more...