Christmas Time In Motor City - Was (Not Was)

Christmastime in the Motor City

But things ain’t really pretty

Yeah, the streets are paved with rusty pennies

Smell of money in the air but you can’t earn a dollar anywhere

I’m out of work, it’s been a while

So don’t ask me to smile

I ain’t no scrooge, I like December

But I can’t even remember seeing Santa Claus this year

Well, I heard he got a job and he changed his name to Bob

Took shave in the lobby of the Cadillac Hotel

They gave him unemployment but no food stamps

We’ll give you drug but there’s no free soup

Christmastime in the Motor City

But things ain’t really pretty

Yeah, the streets are paved with rusty pennies

Smell of money’s in the air

It was not a night to be with birds

Christmas Eve without the tender words

Without a place to call my home

Sharing a square in the park with the pigeons

Combing my hair and feeding them bread

They bobbed their heads and walked right up

Their cup is filled but mine got spilled along the way

At 2 a.m., I’m off the streets, sitting in a donut shop

A sad-eyed girl mops the floor next to my feet

The light in here is far too bright

The radio plays 'Silent Night'

I sit and watch the traffic panic, it sails away

Look at this, it’s Christmas Day

Christmastime in the Motor City

But things ain’t really pretty

Yeah, the streets are paved with rusty pennies

Smell of money’s in the air