Shrunken Heads

Concrete steps, never swept
It used to be fear, now they call it respect
Sad old walls fallin' down
On the shattered skulls in the battleground
Absent fathers, weary mums
The old, the sick, the dying
And the isolated ones
Ancient language turns obscene
Between the goal posts of a circular dream

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
This house is haunted and the streets are dead
We're all the mercy of shrunken heads

Bells are ringing of a cleaner time
There ain't no washing hangin' out on the line anymore
Something died and I don't know when
But it's funkier now that it ever was then

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
The heart of the city is dilapidated
Who's gonna save us from these shrunken heads

On a windy day where no one smiles
On a pleasureless beach on a go-go-golden mile
In a sad cafe eating day old bread
And I tip the angry actress
With pockets full of shrunken heads

Windows barred, exhausted dull
The smell of decay is miserable
Dangerous streets where the dealers rule
Lie litter strewn around a frozen school

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
You took our loyalty and you tore it to shreds
We're all the mercy of shrunken heads
Nothing matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor stay sorer
And the heart of the city is red-carpeted
Freaks of nature, shrunken heads
Shrunken heads decide my fate
It used to be 10, now it's 10:08
We ain't got the answers, it's complicated
I wouldn't bet any money on shrunken heads

Where you're born is the luck of the draw