Lyrics Potter's Field - Tom Waits
Well
you
can
buy
me
a
drink
and
I'll
tell
you
what
I
seen
And
I'll
give
you
a
bargain
from
the
edge
of
a
maniac's
dream
That
buys
a
black
widow
spider
with
a
riddle
in
his
yarn
That's
clinging
to
the
furrow
of
a
blind
man's
brow
I'll
start
talking
from
the
brim
of
a
thimble
full
of
whiskey
On
a
train
through
the
Bronx
that
will
take
you
just
as
far
As
the
empty
of
a
bottle
to
the
highway
of
a
scar
That
stretched
across
the
blacktop
of
my
cheek
like
that
And
then
ducks
beneath
the
brim
of
a
fugitive's
hat
And
you'll
learn
why
liquor
makes
a
stool
pigeon
rat
on
every
face
That
ever
left
his
shadow
down
on
Saint
Mark's
place
Hell,
I'd
double
cross
my
mother
if
it
was
whiskey
that
they
payed
And
so
an
early
bird
says
nightsticks
on
the
hit
parade
And
he
ain't
got
a
prayer
and
his
days
are
numbered
And
you'll
track
him
down
like
a
dog
Well
it's
a
tough
customer
you're
getting
in
this
trade
'Cause
the
nightstick's
heart
pumps
lemonade
Well
whiskey
keeps
a
blind
man
talking
alright
And
I'm
the
only
one
who
knows
just
where
he
stayed
last
night
He
was
in
a
wrecking
yard
in
a
switchblade
storm
In
a
wheelbarrow
with
nothing
but
revenge
to
keep
him
warm
And
a
half
a
million
dollars
in
unmarked
bills
Was
the
nightstick's
blanket
in
a
febuary
chill
And
as
the
buzzard
drove
a
crooked
sky
He
was
dealin
High
Chicago
in
the
mud
And
stackin'
the
deck
against
a
dragnet's
eye
A
shivering
nightstick
in
a
miserable
heap
With
a
siren
for
a
lullaby
singing
him
to
sleep
He
was
bleeding
from
a
buttonhole
Torn
by
a
slug
fired
from
the
barrel
of
a
two
dollar
gun
That
scorched
a
blister
on
the
grip
of
a
punk
by
now
Is
learning
what
you
have
to
pay
to
be
a
hero
anyhow
He
dressed
the
hole
in
his
gut
with
a
hundred
dollar
bandage
A
king's
ransom
for
a
bedspread
that
don't
amount
to
nuthin'
Just
cobweb
strings
on
a
busted
ukulele
And
the
nightstick
leaned
on
a
black
shillelagh
With
the
poison
of
a
junkie's
broken
promise
on
his
lip
He
staggered
in
the
shadows
screaming
"I
ain't
never
been
afraid"
And
he
shot
out
every
street
light
on
the
promenade
Past
the
frozen
ham
and
eggers
at
the
penny
arcade
Throwing
out
handfuls
of
a
blood
stained
salary
They
were
dead
in
their
tracks
at
the
shooting
gallery
And
they
fired
off
a
twenty
one
gun
salute
And
from
the
corner
of
his
eye
he
caught
the
alabaster
orbs
Of
a
diamond
dance
hall
girl
and
stuffed
a
thousand
dollar
bill
In
her
blouse
and
caught
the
cruel
and
unusual
punishment
of
her
smile
And
the
nightstick
winked
beneath
a
rainsoaked
brim
Ain't
no
one
seen
hide
nor
hair
of
him
see
No
one
'cept
a
spade
out
on
Riker's
Island
and
me
And
so
if
you're
mad
enough
to
listen
to
a
full
of
whiskey
blind
man
Then
you're
mad
enough
to
look
beyond
where
bloodhounds
dare
to
go
So
if
you
want
to
know
just
where
the
nightstick's
hidin
out
You
be
down
at
the
ferry
landing,
oh
let's
say
bout
half
past
a
nightmare
When
it's
twisted
on
a
clock
you
tell
'em
Nickels
sentcha
Whiskey
always
makes
him
talk
And
you
ask
for
Captain
Ccharon
with
the
mud
on
his
kicks
He's
the
skipper
of
the
deadline
steamer
And
she
sails
from
the
Bronx
across
the
river
Styx
And
a
riddle's
just
a
ticket
for
a
dreamer
'Cause
when
the
weathervane's
sleepin
and
the
moon
turns
his
back
You
crawl
on
your
belly
long
the
railroad
tracks
And
cross
your
heart
and
hope
to
die
and
stick
a
needle
in
your
eye
Cause
he'd
cut
my
bleedin
heart
out
if
he
found
out
that
I
squealed
Cause
you
see
a
scarecrow's
just
a
hoodlum
Who
marked
the
cards
that
he
dealed
And
pulled
a
gypsy
switch
Out
on
the
edge
of
Potter's
Field
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