Noirsville Tune of the Week

Another "aural" Noir keeping with the big city vibe from Tom Waits

Small Change

Well small change got rained on with his own .38

and nobody flinched down by the arcade

and the marquise weren't weeping 

they went stark ravin' mad

and the cabbies were the only ones 

that really had it made

cause his cold trousers were twisted 

and the sirens high and shrill

and crumpled in his fist was a five dollar bill

and the naked mannikins with their 

cheshire grins

and the raconteurs 

and roustabouts said buddy 

come on in 

cause the dreams ain't broken down here 

now... they're walkin' with a limp

now that 

small change got rained on with his own .38

and nobody flinched down by the arcade

and the burglar alarm's been disconnected 

and the newsmen start to rattle

and the cops are tellin' jokes about some whore house in Seattle

and the fire hydrants plead the 5th Amendment

and the furniture's bargains galore

but the blood is by the juke box 

on an old linoleum floor

and it's a hot rain on 42nd Street 

and now the umbrellas ain't got a chance

and the newsboy's a lunatic 

with stains on his pants cause...

small change got rained on with his own .38

and no one's gone over to close his eyes

and there's a racing form in his pocket 

circled Blue Boots in the 3rd

and the cashier at the clothing store 

he didn't say a word as the

siren tears the night in half 

and someone lost his wallet

well it's surveillance of assailants 

if that's whachawannacallit

but the whores still smear on Revlon 

and they all look like Jane Meadows

but their mouths cut just like 

razor blades and their eyes are like stilettos

and her radiator's steaming 

and her teeth are in a wreck

now she won't let you kiss her 

but what the hell did you expect

and the gypsies are tragic and if you 

wanna to buy perfume, well 

they'll bark you down like 

carneys...sell you Christmas cards in June

but...

small change got rained on with his own .38

and his headstone's 

a gumball machine

no more chewing gum or 

baseball cards or 

overcoats or dreams and

someone is hosing down the sidewalk 

and he's only in his teens

small change got rained on with his own .38

and a fist full of dollars can't change that

and someone copped his watch fob 

and someone got his ring

and the newsboy got his pork pie Stetson hat

and the tuberculosis old men 

at the Nelson wheeze and cough

and someone will head South 

until this whole thing cools off cause

small change got rained on with his own .38

small change got rained on with his own .38