[Verse 1: New-wave male lead, jittery and fast] Four o'clock, the shift is over, apron in my hand Pretzel salt on everything, I smell like a hot dog stand Step on the escalator going down to the floor And there she is going up again, the girl from the shoe store Nine seconds, that's the deal, I counted every one Four seconds getting closer and then five seconds gone She looks at me, I look at her, I look down at my feet Every day for a year I let the stairs decide we meet [Pre-Chorus: New-wave male lead, rising] Everybody standing to the right like they were told Everybody letting the machine decide where they go [Chorus: New-wave male lead, full force] I'm going up the down side Running at you while the whole thing slides Every step I take, it takes one back I'm going up the down side, I don't care about the track [Verse 2: New-wave male lead, faster] Monday I decided I'd been standing long enough Watched her step on at the bottom, said today I'm calling bluff Turned around and started running up the stairs that come down Old men yelling, kids are pointing, security guard comes round Legs on fire, lungs on fire, I am getting nowhere quick Like a hamster on a wheel inside a shopping mall trick Then I look across the middle and she isn't going up She is running down the up side and she's waving at me, what [Pre-Chorus: New-wave male lead, rising] Everybody standing to the right like they were told Everybody letting the machine decide where they go [Chorus: New-wave male lead, full force] I'm going up the down side Running at you while the whole thing slides Every step I take, it takes one back I'm going up the down side, I don't care about the track [Bridge: New-wave male lead, step-up melody, one note higher every line] We pass in the middle and we both start laughing She's at the bottom and I'm at the top I start running down and she starts running up We pass again and the guard says stop Okay, okay, you stay right there I'm taking the regular stairs [Verse 3: New-wave male lead, breathless and grinning] Fire stairs, three flights, two at a time, I'm flying Bust out by the fountain and she's standing there and sighing Says I'm Rosie, you're the pretzel guy, I said that's me She says I've been running down that thing since February Now we ride together, same step, holding on the rail Four o'clock every day like a train that will not fail But some days just for fun we split up at the floor And race the wrong way up to meet in front of the shoe store [Chorus: New-wave male lead, full force] I'm going up the down side Running at you while the whole thing slides Every step I take, it takes one back I'm going up the down side, I don't care about the track [Outro: New-wave male lead] Stand to the right, everybody Not us [End]
