1. The Last Nickel in the Rain

(Intro: A single, damp piano chord, repeated like a heartbeat in a gutter. The upright bass slides down a half-step, mournful and low. A muted trumpet coughs once, then retreats into the fog.)

(Verse 1)
The streetlights are buzzing like a neon migraine
And the sky’s got a leak that just won’t ever drain
I’m standing by the window of the Grand Hotel
Checking my pockets for a story to tell
Got a matchbook cover with a number erased
And a shadow of a woman that I’ve never quite faced
The concrete is thirsty, the night is a sin
And the radiator’s hissing like a snake made of tin.

(Chorus)
So buy me a bourbon, keep the glass on the slide
There’s a lot of things broken that I just can’t hide
Just a nickel in the rain, just a prayer in the flue
Just another slow dance with a ghost that I knew
Yeah, the clock’s got a limp and the moon’s gone to seed
And I’m just giving out what I’m too tired to need.

(Bridge)
(Saxophone solo: low, raspy, fighting against the static)
The city’s a butcher, the city’s a clerk
It’s counting the bodies that work in the dark
And you try to make a bargain with the man at the door
But he doesn’t want your silver, he doesn’t want nothing anymore.

(Verse 2)
The dog’s barking at a train that’s never gonna come
And the waitress is humming with a heart that’s gone numb
I’m trading my secrets for a pack of cheap smokes
While the devil tells lies and the clergyman jokes
My shoes are full of water, my coat’s full of holes
And we’re all just collectors of each other’s souls
So tip your hat to the gutter, tip your glass to the floor
I don’t think I’m walking through that revolving door... not anymore.

(Outro)
(Piano stops. Bass keeps the pulse, slow, dragging.)
Just a nickel.
Left in the rain.
It don’t buy nothing but the time.
Yeah.
Just the time.
(Fades into the sound of distant subway screeching and tape hiss.)

2190/7500

(Intro: A single, damp piano chord, repeated like a heartbeat in a gutter. The upright bass slides down a half-step, mournful and low. A muted trumpet coughs once, then retreats into the fog.) (Verse 1) The streetlights are buzzing like a neon migraine And the sky’s got a leak that just won’t ever drain I’m standing by the window of the Grand Hotel Checking my pockets for a story to tell Got a matchbook cover with a number erased And a shadow of a woman that I’ve never quite faced The concrete is thirsty, the night is a sin And the radiator’s hissing like a snake made of tin. (Chorus) So buy me a bourbon, keep the glass on the slide There’s a lot of things broken that I just can’t hide Just a nickel in the rain, just a prayer in the flue Just another slow dance with a ghost that I knew Yeah, the clock’s got a limp and the moon’s gone to seed And I’m just giving out what I’m too tired to need. (Bridge) (Saxophone solo: low, raspy, fighting against the static) The city’s a butcher, the city’s a clerk It’s counting the bodies that work in the dark And you try to make a bargain with the man at the door But he doesn’t want your silver, he doesn’t want nothing anymore. (Verse 2) The dog’s barking at a train that’s never gonna come And the waitress is humming with a heart that’s gone numb I’m trading my secrets for a pack of cheap smokes While the devil tells lies and the clergyman jokes My shoes are full of water, my coat’s full of holes And we’re all just collectors of each other’s souls So tip your hat to the gutter, tip your glass to the floor I don’t think I’m walking through that revolving door... not anymore. (Chorus) So buy me a bourbon, keep the glass on the slide There’s a lot of things broken that I just can’t hide Just a nickel in the rain, just a prayer in the flue Just another slow dance with a ghost that I knew Yeah, the clock’s got a limp and the moon’s gone to seed And I’m just giving out what I’m too tired to need. (Outro) (Piano stops. Bass keeps the pulse, slow, dragging.) Just a nickel. Left in the rain. It don’t buy nothing but the time. Yeah. Just the time. (Fades into the sound of distant subway screeching and tape hiss.)

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