The folks, they just can't take no more

Throw you in the back seat, slam the door

No stoppin' as down the road you go

Go not time to lose





Gigantic one way gate ahead

You're thinkin' man I'd as soon be dead

They decided to give you life instead

The sanitarium blues





Big ole nurse all dressed in white

Slaps you on a table in the middle of the night

Then he straps you down real tight

You're wonderin', what'd I do?





They hose you down, make sure you're clean

Wrap you up in hospital green

Shoot you full of Thorazine

The sanitarium blues





Could be TB or maybe a tumor

Eavesdropping on the doctors, listening to the rumors

Can't see your friends, hear the hum of the wheels

Hey my man, you know how it feels

Like the sanitarium blues





They upon some sunlit day

They figure there's no need for you to stay

They're pretty sure you can't be cyred

So they send you on your merry way





You hit the pavement, hang around

Nobody's on the outside to be found

You're just tryin' to stay above the ground

You start to thinkin', what's the use?

The sanitarium blues