Ed Harcourt, born on August 14, 1977, is a British singer-songwriter from L… Read Full Bio ↴Ed Harcourt, born on August 14, 1977, is a British singer-songwriter from Lewes, East Sussex. Before he went solo, he played the bass and keyboards in a band called Snug.

Signed to Heavenly Recordings, he debuted in 2000 with the 6-track EP Maplewood. His full length effort, Here Be Monsters followed in 2001.

He has since released From Every Sphere (2003), Strangers (2004), The Beautiful Lie (2006, his last for Heavenly), Lustre (2010), Back Into The Woods (2013), Time Of Dust (2014), and Furnaces (2016).

His first instrument is the piano, but he also uses several less common keyboard instruments as well as the guitar. Live, he is accompanied by a band typically comprising a drummer, guitarist, violinist and trumpeter. His work is sometimes reminiscent of Tom Waits but still entirely his own, varied and passionate style.

Atlantic City
Ed Harcourt Lyrics

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Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night
Now they blew up his house, too
Down on the boardwalk they're getting ready for a fight
Gonna see what them racket boys can do

Now there's trouble busing in from out of state
And the D.A. can't get no relief
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade

And the gambling commission's hanging on by the skin of its teeth

And everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got into debts that I could not pay
So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus

And everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
But with you forever I'll stay
And we're going out where the sand's turning to gold
So put on your stockings, 'cause the night's getting cold

Maybe everything dies, baby, that's a fact
Maybe everything that dies someday comes back

Now I've been looking for a job but it's hard to find
Down here, it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well, I'm tired of coming out on the losing end
So, honey, last night I met this guy, I'm gonna do a little favor for him

Well, I guess everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Overall Meaning

"Atlantic City" is a song by Ed Harcourt about Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, and its changing fortunes. The song is desolated and brooding in tone and depicts the town's decline from its golden days. In the first verse, the singer mentions the Chicken Man, a character from the infamous underworld of Philadelphia, who has been killed along with his house. The song then moves to depict the gambling scene of Atlantic City. The gambling commission is hanging by the skin of its teeth, indicating that things aren't going well. The lyric "everything dies", reminds us that nothing lasts forever.

The second verse of the song is about the singer's woes. He has a job, tries to save money for their future but ends up with debts he cannot pay. So he draws out his money from Central Trust and buys two tickets on the Coast City bus to Atlantic City to start anew. The singer wants to meet his lover in Atlantic City and forget their troubles. As the song goes on, we find that the singer's luck may have died, but he vows to stay with his lover forever, and they are going out where the sand is turning to gold (symbolizing the change in their fortunes).

Line by Line Meaning

Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night
The Chicken Man in Philadelphia was killed and his house was destroyed in an explosion last night.

Now they blew up his house, too
The Chicken Man's house was destroyed in the same explosion.

Down on the boardwalk they're getting ready for a fight
People on the boardwalk are preparing themselves for a conflict.

Gonna see what them racket boys can do
They will witness the actions of the criminals.

Now there's trouble busing in from out of state
Problems have arrived from other states on buses.

And the D.A. can't get no relief
The District Attorney is unable to find a solution to the issue.

Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade
There will be a fight on the promenade.

And the gambling commission's hanging on by the skin of its teeth
The gambling commission is barely managing to survive.

And everything dies, baby, that's a fact
Everything ends eventually.

But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
However, it’s possible that what dies can come back to life eventually.

Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
Put on your best appearance.

Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Let’s meet in Atlantic City tonight.

Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
I attempted to save my money after getting a job.

But I got into debts that I could not pay
But I became indebted due to some financial difficulties.

So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
So, I withdrew all the money I had in the Central Trust.

And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus
Then I bought us two tickets on that Coast City Bus.

Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
Our luck may have run out, and our love may have faded away.

But with you forever I'll stay
But I will always stay with you.

And we're going out where the sand's turning to gold
We are going where everything seems perfect.

So put on your stockings, 'cause the night's getting cold
Wear your stockings because the night is getting cold.

Now I've been looking for a job but it's hard to find
I have been searching for a job, but it is tough to find one.

Down here, it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line
In this place, there are only winners and losers, so don't be on the wrong side of things.

Well, I'm tired of coming out on the losing end
I'm tired of being a loser all the time.

So, honey, last night I met this guy, I'm gonna do a little favor for him
So last night, I met someone, and I'm going to do an errand for him.

Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Let’s meet each other tonight in Atlantic City.

Contributed by Alexander C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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