words and music by Joe Jackson)



Stop - what's that sound?

It's the death rattle of this rusty old town

Stop - listen again

It's the sound of laughter all along the Thames



Hey - what's my line?

Do I have to stay here 'til the end of time?

I'm - good-lookin' and bright

I wanna see life after ten at night



So if they ask you where I am

I'm in the back of a Transit van

In a squat on the Earls Court Road

Gone down to London turning coal into gold

Down to London - down to London

Gone down to London to be the king



Hey - what's your name?

The boys back home all seem to look the same

You - should stick with me

And one of us will make it, just you see



Stop - what's that sound?

Seems like the sixties are still swingin' around

Hey - can you hear me back there

Or is there anybody left to care



So if you ask me where they are

They're hangin' tough in a Soho bar

Playing guitars on the underground

Gone down to London tryin' to chase that sound

Down to London - down to London

Gone down to London to be the king



So I ask you should I cry or laugh

Drinking tea in a Kings Cross caff

A leather jacket against the cold

Gone down to London turning coal into gold

Down to London - down to London

Gone down to London to be the king



(C) 1989 by Pokazuka Ltd. Administered in the U.S. and Canada

by Almo Music Corp. (ASCAP