Sweet Payne The Hold Steady

Payne Avenue lives up to its name
Some nights it's painful and strange
The whole city seemed sane in the day
But some nights it seems distressed and deranged

The east side's where we met with those guys
That said they'd get us high but then changed
Now they're down in the basement and they're bashing out his brains
Kids are getting cut up with the motorcycle chains

And St. Paul had it all when we called
And they were maxing out on medicine
A shaved head and the blood on the bed
And those guys you recognize, they got the same tattoos as Gideon

Strong stuff and she had more than enough
She was slumping over, smiling, sailing off with cherubim
The Cityscape Skins are kinda kicking it again
They're gonna show these kids some discipline

Gideon's been living up in Bay City, Michigan
And he's been working at the Michelin
He got messed up with some messed-up magicians

We got so high some nights Michigan looked just like a mitten
Some nights we got fried
Strung out on residuals and visuals and laser shows
Reach into the speaker and try to hold on to the quarter notes