A Lawless World

Your daddy used to drive 95 on 95
 Said he did it all the time and he made it back alive
 Used to warn you 'bout the Lower East Side at night
 And the bars down by the harbor where the drunken sailors fight
 I remember sleepin' on the roof from June until the fall
 Sister'd swat you with a stick, father'd slam you 'gainst the wall
 All the cops were takin' bribes, all the bodies disappeared
 Gun was always at the side when you went for a beer 'round here
 So walk a mile in my boots down to the old school
 Maybe crybaby'll learn a thing or two
 Yeah!
 Wise guys and weasels used to run this whole damn town
 I got beat so many times 'til I learned to knock 'em down
 Now I'm made of steel and leather stitched with wires and screws
 Built a house at nineteen 'cause at eighteen got the boot
 So walk a while in my shoes before you sing those blues
 Things ain't what they used to be, don't make 'em like they used to
 Burnin' through our cigarettes, riskin' injury or death
 It's like we used to say: if you could see this place and I could see your face
 Smash up your fantasy - justice served, no one bleeds
 I'm rollin' up my sleeves to tell you 'bout a lawless world (world! world! world!)
 And no one came along to pick me up off the curb
 And I went the whole way home to hear I got what I deserved
 See I knew what I had to do, see some things I'll never tell
 I'll take it with me to my grave, then I'll burn my life in hell
 And if you went to walk that mile, well, you'd be in for a surprise
 Just a highway and a bind for hitchin' a ride
 Burnin' through our cigarettes, riskin' injury or death
 It's like they always say: if you could see this place and I could see your face
 Tear up your fantasy - peace kept, nobody beat
 I'm rollin' up my sleeves - hey, where the hell you been?
 Pick your poison, name your game, play to kill, shoot to win
 The (?), we're all just history
 I cashed in, sold out, had nothin' left to cry about
 I'd love to still believe there's order in a lawless world (world! world! world!)