She is known for her sense of humor, which is expressed in both her music and her onstage performances. Many of her songs alternate between emotional reflections on romance and outright comedy. Two of her more famous songs include "Sensitive New Age Guys" and "Bald Headed Men".
Waiting for the 'B' Train
Christine Lavin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pushed through the turnstile.
There was a woman at the end of the platform
Waiving her arms around, kind of wild.
"Come here," she wailed. "There's a puppy on the rails.
I think it has been hurt."
I raced down to where she was pointing
"It must be dead," I said to her,
as I turned to leave.
"No, it's alive," she cried. "Just before you got here,
I swear, I saw it breath."
"And I'll watch for the train if you'll jump down.
Pick him up and hand it to me.
If we take him to the vet, if we save his life,
Think how wonderful that'll be."
I looked into the tunnel, there was no train in sight.
I looked at the furry thing lying there, a truly pitiful sight.
"Look," I said. "I'm not sure that's a puppy.
Could be a lice-infested, long-haired rat.
And it's gotta be dead, so I'm not jumping down,"
and I figured that that was that.
But by now more people arrived on the platform, and she said,
"Help. There's a puppy on the tracks."
They looked for a moment, and like true New Yorkers,
collectively turned their backs.
She said, "Somebody's gotta do something,"
As we slowly turned around again.
"Someone must have the courage to save him.
It's a puppy. It's man's best friend."
"Trains come through here every few minutes."
Said a man wearing madras pants.
"And it's way too dangerous. You'd have to be nuts,
to take such a foolish chance."
But the woman was insistent. "In the time we've been debating,"
She said "One of you could've jumped down.
Handed him to me, by now that puppy could be
at the animal shelter cross town!"
We felt bad, but no one would do it.
Then a transit cop appeared.
Down at the other end of the platform
We all yelled "Hey you! Come here!"
He ran to us, I pointed to the train tracks and said,
"See that thing, furry, not to big.
What do you think it is, he looked and said,...
"What? You mean that wig?"
We stepped back. A rush of embarrassment swept right through the crowd.
Accented by the blast of a train whistle,
Approaching and growing quite loud.
The "be " train flattened that furry thing.
We got on board, went on our way.
Grateful that we did not risk our lives
to save a life of a wig that day.
So if you see something on the train tracks,
Take a tip from me.
Don't let anybody talk you into saving it,
It's best to just let it be.
And if you see a person wearing
what looks like a puppy on their head,
Don't call the police, it's only a wig,...
..and chances are it's already dead.
Christine Lavin's song “Waiting for the 'B' Train” is a humorous tale of an incident in which the singer is asked to help save a puppy stranded on a subway track, but eventually discovers that the creature is actually a wig. As a New Yorker, the singer is familiar with the scene and has just dropped a token into the slot and pushed through the turnstile when a woman at the other end of the platform begins wildly waving her arms. She point out towards something moving on the train tracks that the singer eagle eye thinks might be dead. Despite the woman's insistence that the animal was alive, and offering to stand guard against the train while he jumped down to rescue the creature, the singer chose not to act. Soon, others began arriving on the scene, but, lacking courage, no one acted. Eventually, a transit cop arrived on the scene, only to confirm that the stricken creature was actually a wig.
The song is a satire of New York City’s subway system and the people who depend on it. The lyrics are written in tongue-in-cheek style and carry a humorous tone while poking fun at New York City commuters' apathy to assist others in need. Christine Lavin uses various elements, such as imagery and irony, to make the story more prominent and memorable. The woman waving her arms around and the group of people debating whether to save the puppy, only to discover it's a wig, effectively portray the ignorance and the lack of willingness to act in a city where everyone is trying to get to their destination as quickly as possible. Ultimately, the song laments the selfishness of people and the way it results in the unnecessary sacrifice of innocent creatures.
Line by Line Meaning
I dropped a token into the slot.
I put a token in the turnstile so that I could get through.
Pushed through the turnstile.
I pushed against the handrail that was keeping me from getting through to the other side.
There was a woman at the end of the platform Waving her arms around, kind of wild.
A woman was gesturing at us from the end of the platform in what looked like a frantic form of warning.
"Come here," she wailed. "There's a puppy on the rails. I think it has been hurt."
She was calling my attention because she had spotted what she thought was a wounded puppy down on the tracks of the railway.
I raced down to where she was pointing to see a ball of fur covered with dirt.
I ran down the platform to where she was pointing so I could get a closer view of what she had seen - a furball with dirt lodged in it.
"It must be dead," I said to her, as I turned to leave.
I told her that it was probably dead and turned around thinking to walk away from this.
"No, it's alive," she cried. "Just before you got here, I swear, I saw it breath."
She said that she had seen it alive and breathing just before I arrived on the scene.
"And I'll watch for the train if you'll jump down. Pick him up and hand it to me. If we take him to the vet, if we save his life, Think how wonderful that'll be."
She suggested that I retrieve the furball, and she would watch out for the train, so we could save it and treat it to a healthy life.
I looked into the tunnel, there was no train in sight. I looked at the furry thing lying there, a truly pitiful sight.
I searched the tunnel's depth with my eyes, but none of the trains were visible. Meanwhile, the furball lying motionless was a pitiful sight to see.
"Look," I said. "I'm not sure that's a puppy. Could be a lice-infested, long-haired rat. And it's gotta be dead, so I'm not jumping down," and I figured that that was that.
I was not sure it was even a puppy but could have been a long-haired rat, and at any rate must be dead, so I decided not to risk jumping down.
But by now more people arrived on the platform, and she said, "Help. There's a puppy on the tracks." They looked for a moment, and like true New Yorkers, collectively turned their backs.
More people started to arrive on the platform, but when the woman told them about the furball, they looked for a second, and being New Yorkers demonstrated an ambivalent attitude by collectively ignoring the situation and walking away.
She said, "Somebody's gotta do something," As we slowly turned around again. "Someone must have the courage to save him. It's a puppy. It's man's best friend."
The woman who had spotted the alleged puppy pleaded and said that someone must take action to retrieve it, being a loyal companion of man.
"Trains come through here every few minutes." Said a man wearing madras pants. "And it's way too dangerous. You'd have to be nuts, to take such a foolish chance."
A man who wore distinct madras pants stated that trains come in rapid succession, and it was risky to intervene.
But the woman was insistent. "In the time we've been debating," She said "One of you could've jumped down. Handed him to me, by now that puppy could be at the animal shelter cross town!"
The woman insisted that anyone could have jumped down by then instead of debating, handed her the pup to take it to an animal shelter across the town.
We felt bad, but no one would do it. Then a transit cop appeared. Down at the other end of the platform We all yelled "Hey you! Come here!"
All of us felt guilty about not taking any action, but none of us was ready to act. It was then that a transit cop appeared at the other end of the platform, and we yelled for him to come over.
He ran to us, I pointed to the train tracks and said, "See that thing, furry, not to big. What do you think it is, he looked and said,...
The cop rushed down to us, and I pointed out the furball and asked him if he could identify it to which he responded,
"What? You mean that wig?"
The cop was horrified to understand that we had mistaken a wig at the tracks for a little dog.
We stepped back. A rush of embarrassment swept right through the crowd. Accented by the blast of a train whistle, Approaching and growing quite loud.
We all felt intense embarrassment as it dawned on us that we had mistaken a wig for a live creature. Meanwhile, the sound of the approaching train grew imminent and loud.
The "be " train flattened that furry thing. We got on board, went on our way. Grateful that we did not risk our lives to save a life of a wig that day.
The train hit the furball, and we boarded the train, feeling grateful that we had not gone so low as to risk our lives to save a wig.
So if you see something on the train tracks, Take a tip from me. Don't let anybody talk you into saving it, It's best to just let it be. And if you see a person wearing what looks like a puppy on their head, Don't call the police, it's only a wig,...and chances are it's already dead.
The singer concluded saying that it's best to pass over and ignore any sighting on the train track more so; nobody should coerce you into taking action. She adds by saying, if you ever see someone wearing what looks like a pup, it's best not to be a busybody and raise alarm, for it's most likely a wig, and probably nobody can help it now.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRISTINE LAVIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind