Small Change
ÌÀÄ·.Íþ×È(Tom Waits) Lyrics

Well small change got rained on with his own .38
A man named small change was shot with his own gun

And nobody flinched down by the arcade
No one was surprised or reacted to the incident near the arcade

And the marquise weren't weeping
The large architectural entranceway was not showing any emotion

They went stark-raving mad
The people nearby went crazy

And the cabbies were the only ones That really had it made
The taxi drivers were the only ones benefiting from the commotion

And his cold trousers were twisted, And the sirens high and shrill
The victim's pants were twisted and the police sirens were loud

And crumpled in his fist was a five-dollar bill
The victim was holding a crumpled five-dollar bill

And the naked mannikins with their Cheshire grins
The mannequins in the store window had creepy, mischievous smiles

And the raconteurs And roustabouts said buddy Come on in
The storytellers and circus workers encouraged people to come inside and ignore the chaos

Cause the dreams ain't broken down here now Now ...they're walking with a limp Now that
Despite the chaos, people's dreams aren't completely shattered, but they are a bit damaged

And the burglar alarm's been disconnected
The burglar alarm has been turned off

And the newsmen start to rattle And the cops are tellin' jokes About some whore house in Seattle
The reporters are nervous and the police are joking about something unrelated in Seattle

And the fire hydrants plead the 5th Amendment
The fire hydrants are not answering any questions

And the furniture's bargains galore But the blood is by the jukebox On an old linoleum floor
The store has great deals on furniture, but there is blood on the floor near the jukebox

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
It is raining hard on 42nd street and umbrellas aren't working. The newsboy is crazy and has stains on his pants

And no one's gone over to close his eyes
No one has gone to close the victim's 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
The victim had a racing form in his pocket with a circle around 'Blue Boots' in the 3rd. The clothing store cashier didn't say anything as the police sirens were loud

And someone lost his wallet Well it's surveillance of assailants If that's whatchawannacallit
Someone lost their wallet and now the police are trying to track down the criminal

And the whores hike up their skirts And fish for drug-store prophylactics* With their mouths cut just like Razor blades and their eyes are like stilettos
The prostitutes raise their skirts and look for condoms. They have dangerous-looking mouths and sharp eyes

And her radiator's steaming And her teeth are in a wreck Now she won't let you kiss her But what the hell do you expect
A woman's car has a problem and her teeth are bad. She won't let you kiss her because of these problems

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
The Gypsies are sad and if you want to buy perfume, they will try to sell to you aggressively, like carnival workers. They even sell Christmas cards in June

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
The victim's grave marker is a gumball machine. He can no longer enjoy life's simple pleasures because he is dead. Someone is washing the sidewalk where he was killed and he was very young

And a fistful of dollars can't change that
Money cannot bring the dead back to life

And someone copped his watch fob And someone got his ring And the newsboy got his porkpie Stetson hat
Someone stole the victim's watch fob and ring, and the newsboy took his 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
The old men at the Nelson are coughing and someone will leave town until things calm down. All because small change was killed with his own gun