The Empty City

Lyrics

[Intro] Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Hello, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi [Verse 1] The outline of the city The sheerness of its height I thought that I was kidding When I said—I love this sight (I love this sight) I love this skyline Towers rising from the trees White bars on a blue graph Not exactly, uh, flapping in the breeze [Verse 2] Cast upon a great white plaza Filtered down through architects' maps A stand of glassy super-structures Rising from the sprawling city flats Streaming to the blue sea—I mean sky Gleaming like beluga, beluga Reduced to teeming atoms And shimmering in the heat [Chorus] Hope you have your camera Hope you have some paper 'Cause if no one gets this down Then it's gone forever Gone forever [Verse 3] This is the elevator I press all the buttons Every floor is different Well, a different number anyways The marble in the lobby The silent corridors Is this the new church Out of which, uh, no one pours? [Verse 4] I feel I'm rising higher I must be in the clouds by now I knew it when I saw it I picked the right office tower I feel I heard it lift off Break away from all the rest It's lifting its great heaviness [Chorus] Hope you have your camera Hope you have some paper 'Cause if no one gets this down Then it's gone [Verse 5] Strange when I think about it Well, that I should write of birds and flying things I, I always tried to avoid it Reminds me of dumb girls and bad poetry Well—I'm not perfect I don't know why it moves me Maybe I'm gonna die soon A secret known only to Known only to not even me [Verse 6] I want to live forever I fear maybe you don't I fear that I will lose you Leave me here to carry on alone That's why I'm not that surprised That one has broken away Has lifted from the silent earth And carried me away [Chorus] Hope you have your camera Hope you have some paper 'Cause if no one gets this down Then it's gone, gone [Bridge] Why? Why? Why? Why? Hi, hi, me, it's me It's me, hi, hi, hi Why? Why? Why? [Verse 7] A crystalline set of dominoes Except not really crystalline And sort of domino-like But, but not really Life is a tall white building Lifting from the silent earth It's, it's carrying a message Carrying it away [Outro] I am only... I am only...