Oretown

The night stank of diesel A stranger came to town A cold wind blowing And the rain pouring down Street lights flicker And the power lines moan The moon beat down On a river of bone Someone put the lights out No one make a sound You won't find a thing Down in Oretown Foundry spits fire and smoke Air's foul and choking Sky is full of sulphur Hills flat and broken Black fogs and whirlwinds The thunder and rain Open drink madness Purple mad pain The circus is over Exit the clowns Nobody's laughing Down in Oretown The ship's in the harbor Cargo's been pawned Barrooms spilling sailors All shipwrecked at dawn Smelling of salt and rust Uniform's torn Came looking for flowers Only found thorns Dreaming of mermaids In pearly white gowns Captain is sleeping Down in Oretown There's a man down on mainstreet Eyes all aflame Laughing in the thunder Of the Number 9 train Selling old postcards in rusty frames A thousand views of Oretown And they all look the same Dressed up in sandals A barbed wire crown A lot of people lost their minds Down in Oretown Lock up the lawman Let go the thief Round up the grey men Nail them to a tree This town was a palace This town was aglow Well, the sky burned orange And the iron river flowed The night stank of diesel A stranger came to town The night folded over Down in Oretown