Uncle Bill's New York City Lament

There's a fog around
Your side of town
Did you ever suspect it too
Was gonna bring ya down
But back in Hollywood
They say the livin's good
While you're wastin' time out on the west side
And back down in your neighborhood

I saw the village life
Smoky winter nights
Shiverin' voices advertising a comic
That you never liked
Saw a smilin' man
With a rag in hand
Shinin' shoes for pennies while a girl goes past
In a store-bought tan

Saw you stand alone
I heard the sirens drone
As you stopped to read the subway scribbles
On your way back home
When you got the sack
Back to your shotgun shack
Packed door-to-door on the fourth floor
Never get your money back

But I heard Uncle Bill's
In California still
Watching waves roll in
And crash on down from his windowsill

Saw a folded suit
Beside a hungry dude
Gettin' trampled by the mass
On a Monday morn' commute
Saw a coffee shop
That opened on my block
Drivin' people out the neighborhood
And drivin' prices up

I heard fireworks
I think that's what they were
Best to hush your mouth, go inside
And never say another word
I heard a mother's pain
Dry heavin' in the rain
Saw her scramble for her oldest boy
She was about to faint

But I heard Uncle Bill's
In California still
Watching waves roll in
And crash on down from his windowsill

Well is it all you dreamed
Under the cogged machine
I heard no matter where you go
You're always gonna see what you done seen
But I heard Uncle Bill's
In California still
Watching waves roll in
And crash on down from his windowsill
Yeah I heard Uncle Bill's
In California still