Meanwhile

I'm with Dr. Zhivago and the English Patient
Talking to McCullers again
Sitting in the kitchen in the heat and the wind
On the wire again

Meanwhile at the market they sell half for all
It's an arm and a leg to kill anything in the wall
The landlord's M.I.A. until the first day of the month
You can't throw a stone around here without hitting someone

Chess masters in the park, smoking in the wind
Laughing how there's no way to tell
Advertisement satellites beam down on the field
Its hard to get enough sun down here to really heal

Plague doctors standing on the steps again
The congregation's gathered, half a woman to a man
It's elbow to elbow in the apocalypse
You can't smell the flowers without
Catching something from the abyss

K says the numbers are on the rise
She says rooms are overflowing every night
I start to think everything's over and done
But I can't get out of bed off that so it just won't be enough

Joan says it's all you can do
To get through the black and the blue
She's translating braille to reveal
The soul's just something you gotta feel

Candles are lit
The warship is booked
There's no going back now
Everyone I know is tired and shook
Looking for a silver lining in a raincloud book

Meanwhile, I can't get you out of my head
Wondering how you are if you're not sick in bed
I get up in the morning, have a smoke
And catch up on the charts
Meanwhile