Well there was no way of telling on the first day in town How far it was from the Greyhoud station to midnight and always He checked into a room at the Entella hotel Got used to the gloom and the smell And the thrill of the sight of the old men laying in hallways So you go up Broadway where the sailors all rome And the girls give themselves names like Lola, Estelle, and Nicole They work at a place called The Garden of Earthly Delights And the tourists come in from all over to take in the sights In the sweet summer heat, Nick the cop walks the beat You can hear him coming from way down the street Drawing lines in the dirt with his feet Daring kids to cross it Now all the same winos I still see in my dreams Tighten up and start making scenes And here comes nick on this wa*ker and the old ones are whispering “toss it.” Nick picks it up and looks for who's needing it most And the ones on the lamb are all getting ready to roast And the afternoon goes on forever like some drunken bum ‘Til the sun finally drowns ‘neath the bridge and night has begun Down by the bay, the ships horns are blasting the fog
And we stumble and mutter, run through the gutter like dogs We've one card to play, we're dying to play it each night In the back of a place called The Garden of Earthly Delights High in your room, the mirror falls with a roar Stating at pieces that lay broke on the floor And there's a knock on the door and the guy says there's a call on the phone You figure nobody knows your room or your name Guess someone's just playing a game So you answer it guarded expecting to still be alone It's Nicole she says she's getting off early tonight Her and the boss just had a terrible fight And would you come down and meet her, would that be alright? So you walk in the back door, and the first thing you hear is her song At The Garden of Earthly Delights, the show must go on You've got one card to play, and you're dying to play it each night With your back to the bar at the Garden of Earthly Delights You've got one card to play, and you're dying to play it each night In the back of a place called the Garden of Earthly Delights --- .