Needle Park serenade

[Vocal style: Ragged, desperate, whiskey-soaked, voice cracking] [Recording: Low-quality condenser mic, room reverb, hiss] [Performance: Sloppy, slightly off-beat, raw emotion] [Intro] [Acoustic guitar fret noise] [Slow, sloppy, Untuned acoustic guitar strumming - lots of fret buzz and string noise] [Spoken, raspy: "We ready?..."] [Verse 1] Needle Park is breathing, cold and grey — yeah Bobby’s looking for a way to stay — ugh Helen’s eyes are wide and full of rain Trying to find a way to kill the pain — just a little bit, baby The sidewalk’s hard and the money’s spent — damn Don't even know where the summer went — where? Just a couple of ghosts in a crowded room Waiting for the needle to seal our doom — watch out [Chorus] And it’s tearing my heart out — look at me! Yeah, it’s tearing my heart out — can't you see? The streetlights flicker like a dying soul In a city that’s digging a deeper hole Oh — tearing me apart, help Oh — right from the start, no! [Verse 2] Met you by the fountain, seventy-one — (yeah) Before the shadows had even begun — ha Now your face is a map of a broken road Carrying such a heavy, heavy load — let it go I’d sell my boots just to see you smile — please Just to keep the fever away for a while — honey But the man on the corner is calling my name And I’m just a loser in a losing game — (ugh, yeah) [Bridge] [Acoustic guitar bridge - hard, desperate strumming, almost percussive hits on the wood] [Shouted/Crying: "Helen! Where'd you go?!!"] [Verse 3 — half time feel, vocals very low and intimate] The cops are coming but I can't move — no Stuck in the middle of a dirty groove — huh I heard you were leaving on the morning train But all I can feel is the winter rain — cold, so cold [Final Chorus — vocals cracking, maximum emotional distress] Yeah, it’s tearing my heart out — look at me! Oh, it’s tearing my heart out — can't you see?! Choose the powder — or choose the girl — huh! It’s a long way down in a spinning world Oh — tearing me apart Oh — tearing me apart — (please...) [Outro] [Guitar slows down, single dissonant strums that ring out] [Spoken, breaking voice: "It's just the city... it's just the way it is... isn't it?"] [Sound of the guitar being put down on a wooden floor] [End]