Lost in the Flood [Hammersmith Odeon, London ’75]

Lyrics

[Verse 1] The ragamuffin Gunner is returnin' home Like a hungry runaway He walks through town all alone "He must be from the fort," he hears the high school girls say [Verse 2] His countryside's burnin' with wolfman fairies Dressed in drag for homicide They hit and run, plead sanctuary 'Neath a holy stone they hide [Verse 3] Breakin' beams and crosses Makin' their midnight connections As the sisters run bald through the church halls, pregnant Pleadin' immaculate conception [Verse 4] And everybody's wrecked on Main Street From drinking unholy blood Sticker smiles sweet as Gunner breathes deep His ankles caked in mud [Chorus 1] And Sticker says, "Hey, Gunner, that's quicksand That's quicksand, that ain't mud! Have you thrown your senses to the war Or did you lose them in the flood?" [Verse 5] That pure American brother Dull-eyed and empty-faced He races Sundays in Jersey In his Chevy stock super eight [Verse 6] He rides 'er low on the hip, on the side he's got "Bound for Glory" In red, white and blue flash paint He leans on the hood telling racing stories The kids call him Jimmy the Saint [Verse 7] Well the blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch Loaded to blastin' point He rides head first into a hurricane And disappears into a point [Verse 8] And there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell That is, nothin' left that you could sell Just junk all across the horizon A real highwayman's farewell [Chorus 2] And someone said "Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil that's blood!" I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm Or was he just lost in the flood? [Verse 9] Eighth Avenue sailors In satin shirts whisper in the air Some storefront incarnation of Maria She's puttin' on me a stare [Verse 10] And Bronx's best apostle stands With his hand on his own hardware Everything stops and you hear five quick shots The cops come up for air [Verse 11] And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown They're shootin' up the street That cat from the Bronx starts lettin' loose But gets blown right off his feet [Verse 12] And some kid comes blastin' around the corner But a cop puts him right away He lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in Spanish Still breathing when I walked away [Chorus 3] And someone said, "Hey man, did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud" I wonder what the dude was sayin' Or was he just lost in the flood? [Chorus 4] Hey man, did you see that? Those cats were sure messed up I wonder what they were gettin' into Or were they just lost in the flood? [Outro] Oh, were they lost? Were they lost? Were they lost? Were they lost?