All the young men carry knives
A sense of pride as darkness falls
Dressed up in drag
They're taking a girl to the riverside
Muscles tense
Eyes open wide
And emotion has died
Would you fight in the war
If we advertise
We'll make your blood as cold as dry ice
The bad boys on the legendary avenues
They used to know the way
To make you beg
To loosen the grip on your throat
Just enough to say
That it's okay
You'd grow to be just like them someday
But it's the same old bad cliché
And I just can't live this way
It's only image worship
Down at the paint store they are making a deal
They're spending thousands, any price is a steal
Cause no one sees in
And they've really got no reason
To be watching for something real

Skin-tight as money and city flair
Back seat the vinyl-smell air
New girls too young to be seen or heard
Night and the car windows blurred
Leather constricting each fight
Loving the bomb more every night
And haven't learned her name
Gasoline war lighting cigarettes
Save the last dance to forget
Whose secretary was getting wise
Always a thinner disguise
More love the whiter the card
Sweeping the hearts up in the yard
It's never quite the same
Never having learned her name
Never seen the look on her face

The first time that he held a gun
Though his hands were so small
He felt just like John Wayne
And when he fired, it took his breath away
Now it's gone to stay
Until his girl rubs him the wrong way
But it's the same old bad cliché
And I just can't live this way
It's only painted windows