It's not that far
Another wino burnt to death in his quilt
I can show you if you'd like to
Dumpster diving to feed her baby Emma
Walking down Madison
On the church steps
When you get to the corner
In these mercenary times, oh no
To a knife on the A train
I was only having fun
To the bag lady frozen asleep in the park
To the bag lady frozen asleep
Keep your head down low
And the sandwich you had, oh no
I was philosophizing some
Walking down Madison
Your pennies and dimes
To the rats in the basement
From an uptown apartment
It's a cardboard city, newspaper metropolis
It's not that far
To the rats in the basement
To the rats in the basement
From the sharks in the penthouse
Swear I never had a gun
It's not that far
From an uptown apartment
It's not that far
Wouldn't do it just for fun
Oh no, it's not that far
And you feel real guilty
The social won't pay 'em the money they're owed
To a knife on the A train
It's not that far
Checking out the bums
Walking down Madison
On the church steps
When you've got no money you can't pay rent
And stay quick on your feet, oh yeah
From an uptown apartment
From the sharks in the penthouse
Hungry children is a mother's dilemma
Don't look at those freaks
See you give 'em your nickels
No I never shot no one
From the sharks in the penthouse
About the coat on your back
It's not that far
The ones that sit and gloat
I can show you if you'd like to
Frozen lives for whom nothing's happening
Within every city and town there's a Madison
Would you like to see some more?
With the airforce coat
To a knife on the A train
They're in a vicious circle of no fixed abode
It's not that far
The ones who died, the ones who tried
It's not that far
Trying to keep my head screwed on
It's not that far
Would you like to see some more?
From an uptown apartment
From the sharks in the penthouse
Nickels and dimes won't even buy your guilt
The held out hand that you pay no respect to
So you walk on by like it doesn't affect you
Oh no, it's not that far
The system can't cope or keep on top of this
Hypothermia kills 'cos the system is bent
To the bag lady frozen asleep in the park
To the bag lady frozen asleep
But you can't give 'em hope
No I never shot no one
Checking out the nuns
I swear I never had a gun
The beaming boy from Harlem
Do they solve the problem, no, they move him away
I can show you if you'd like to
The authorities come as you're not for display
I was philosophizing some
To the rats in the basement
To a knife on the A train
And do you want to see some more?
