Seen It All Before

Kerosene Kathy is bringing in the mail
Its a 50/50 choice, pass Go or go to jail
You can see her with her matches on the pavement in the rain
Glowing by the light of this southbound train

She's shouting "good Christian soldiers stamp their ration books with failure
"And twinkle little Stalin's hung his hat up on my nail you're
"Gonna wish you had've fought when your last breath comes
"'Cause we never want for nothing 'cept a little freedom"

And I've seen it all before
And I've seen it all before

Well they brought me to the bars when I was fourteen
A sexy little girl and a seedy little magazine
They painted out my life on a page of black and white
'Cause there's no call for justice when you're dealing in despite

And I landed on a tightrope on the hookline of a dare
A little ragged at the edges but not beyond repair
With a hole in every pocket and half a bag of tricks
But it was nothing that a tenner and a bullet couldn't fix

And I've seen it all before
And I've seen it all before

My money is on anger, they say the form is good
They say the odds are stacked
And this side of Birmingham's a good place to be
When they finally light the match

And I've seen it all before
And I've seen it all before

Just wait till they see me out on the front page
Just wait till they remember how they stroked this rage
Shining like a penny in the back slum gutter
Like a single note sonata in the train conductor's stutter

Make sure they get to see me when I'm hanging from the ceiling
Get each detail of exactly how they're feeling
'Cause Five have got the rights to the docu-soap shows
They'll buy the truth off with some donuts and a sweet red rose

And I've seen it all before
And I've seen it all before

My money is on anger, they say the form is good
They say the odds are stacked
And this side of Birmingham's a good place to be
When they finally light the match

And I've seen it all before
And I've seen it all before