[Verse 1] Mr Skiffington landed with one bent umbrella At Hauptbahnhof, carrying a receipt in his coat He asked for a room with a window that opened And pointed at the rain on his boots like a joke [Chorus] Mr Skiffington, keep moving, keep moving With your bent umbrella and your coat half-zipped No one here is asking you to explain it Just stand in the doorway and let it sit [Verse 2] He took the U-Bahn south with a paper bag dinner A pretzel, a pear, and a knife with no name He watched his reflection split in the tunnel Then fixed his collar like that could change [Instrumental Break] [Chorus] Mr Skiffington, keep moving, keep moving With your bent umbrella and your coat half-zipped No one here is asking you to explain it Just stand in the doorway and let it sit [Verse 3] At a bar off Oranienstraße, he ordered plain water No garnish, no song, just a glass and a chair The barman said, “You visiting, or running?” He said, “I’m here,” and left it there [Chorus] Mr Skiffington, keep moving, keep moving With your bent umbrella and your coat half-zipped No one here is asking you to explain it Just stand in the doorway and let it sit [Verse 4] He mailed a postcard from a box by the station Three lines to a sister who never wrote back “Berlin is cold and the coffee is honest I’m learning to like what I can’t take back” [Instrumental Break] [Chorus] Mr Skiffington, keep moving, keep moving With your bent umbrella and your coat half-zipped No one here is asking you to explain it Just stand in the doorway and let it sit [Verse 5] By morning he’d folded the map in his pocket Bought cigarettes he didn’t light once Mr Skiffington walked through the city like he knew it Not owned, not lost, just passing through at dusk
