The Hold Steady - Hostile, Mass. lyrics

A knockoff necktie
The way he wore it made it
Look more like a tourniquet
I looked deep in his eyes
I saw Lynn, Massachussetts

She hung a sleeveless dress up
On a sleeved up lifestyle
Girl you gotta cover that
She saw him gushing blood
From wide open wounds
And she decided that she loved him

They put the screws into Charlemagne
He had a detox dream
He saw Christ in all his glory
Charlemagne didn't feel any pain
But he's bleeding from the holes in his story

He said, "Hey, my name's Corey
I'm really into hardcore


People call me Hard Corey"
Don't you hate these clever people
And all these clever people parties?

In the park drinking Dark Bacardi
Thinking things are funny when they
Really ain't that funny
The kids on the corner
They keep getting stung
The color of our teeth matches
The color of our tongues

In the Back Bay Fens getting gentle
Up against the fence with some guy
Who looks like Mickey Mantle
Dirty minds keep coming through the mud
The color of their eyes matches
The color of our blood

He had a painters cap it said Panama Jack
It had the flaps on the back that
Kept the sun off his neck
He woke up deep in Hostile, Massachussetts
Reaching out to try to
Touch the special effects

He had no shoes and no pants and they
Dressed him in a shirt with a collar
And they called him Porky Pig
And the two of you went up to his room
But later on you wouldn't admit you did

Seeing lousy movies but only for the A c
Skimpy little outfit's and bad
Guys acting crazy
And that's how I know when you're lying
It looks just like overacting

The kids on the corner are
Cracking and caving in
Turning over and turning other kids in
I never want to make you feel uncomfortable
I hope I never did

They met as kids and he was angry and angsty
Yeah, she was a damned good dancer
I'll be damned if they didn't disappear
Wandered out of mass one day and faded into
The fog and love and faithless fear

Charlemagne in sweatpants and you
And me in Hostile, massachussetts