bruce springsteen
lost in the flood
the ragamuffin gunner is returnin' home like a hungry runaway he walks through town all alone--"he must be from the fort," he hears the high school girls say his countryside's burnin' with wolfman fairies dressed in drag for homicide the hit-and-run plead sanctuary 'neath a holy stone they hide they're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection nuns run bald through vatican halls pregnant pleadin' immaculate conception and everybody's wrecked on main street from drinking unholy blood sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep his ankles caked in mud and i said "hey gunner man that's qucksand that's quicksand that ain't mud have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?" that pure american brother dull-eyed and empty-faced races sundays in jersey in a chevy stock super eight he rides 'er low on the hip on the side he's got "bound for glory" in red white and blue flash paint he leans on the hood telling racing stories the kids call him jimmy the saint well that blaze-and-noise boy he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point he rides head first into a hurricane and disappears into a point and there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell that is nothin' left that you could sell just junk all across the horizon a real highwayman's farewell and i said "hey kid you think that's oil? man that ain't oil that's blood" i wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm or was he just lost in the flood? eighth avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air some storefront incarnation of maria she's puttin' on me the stare and bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware everything stops you hear five quick shots the cops come up for air and now the whiz-bang gang from uptown they're shootin' up the street and that cat from the bronx starts lettin' loose but he gets blown right off his feet and some kid comes blastin' 'round the corner but a cop puts him right away he lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in spanish still breathing when i walked away and somebody said "hey man did you see that? his body hit the street with such a beautiful thud" i wonder what the dude was sayin' or was he just lost in the flood? hey man did you see that those poor cats are sure messed up i wonder what they were gettin' into or were they just lost in the flood?