It was pretty big year for fashion

A lousy year for rock and roll

The people gave their blessing to crimes of passion

It was a dark, dark night of the collective soul

And i was somewhere out on riverside by the el royale hotel

When a stranger appeared in a cloud of smoke

I thought i knew him all too well

He said now that i have your attention

I got something i wanna say

You may not wanna hear it, i'm gonna tell it to you anyway

You know i've always like you boy

Cause you were not afraid of me

Things are gonna get mighty rough here in gomorrah-by-the-sea



Ya said it's just like home

It's so damn hot i can't stand it

My fine seersucker suit is all soaking wet

And the hills are burning

And the wind is raging

And the clock strikes midnight in the garden of allah

In the garden of allah



Nice car

Ah, i love those bavarians

So meticulous

Y'know i remember when things were a lot more fun around here

When good was good and evil was evil

Before things got so fuzzy

I was once a golden boy like you

And i was summoned to the halls of power in the heavenly courts

And i dined with the deities who looked upon me with favor,

For my talents, my creativity

And we sat beneath the palms

In the warm afternoons and drank the wine

With fitzgerald and huxley

And they pawned the biting phrase from the tongues hot with blood

And drained their pins of bitter ink

Vainly reaching for the bottle full of empty edens

Branded especially for the ones who had come with great expectations

To the perfumed halls of allah, for their time in the sun



And we were stokin' the fires and oilin' up the machinery

Until the gods found out we had ideas of our own

And war was coming and the earth was shaking

And there was no more ruin in the garden of allah



Today i made an appearance downtown

I am an expert witness because i say i am

And i said gentlemen, and i use that world loosely

I will testify for you, i'm a gun for hire,i'm a saint, i'm a liar

Because there are no facts, there is no truth

Just data to be manipulated

I can get you any result you like

What's it worth to you?

Because there is no wrong, there is no right

And i sleep very well at night

No shame, no solution, no remorse, no retribution

Just people selling t-shirts

Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus

And winning, winning, winning



It was pretty big year for predators

The marketplace was on a roll

And the land of opportunity

Spawned a whole new breed of men without souls

This year notoriety got all confused with fame

And the devil is downhearted babe, cause

There's nothing left for him to claim



He said it's just like home

It's so low-down i can't stand it

I guess my work around here has all been done



And the fruit is rotten, the serpent's eyes shine

As he wraps around the vine,

In the garden of allah

In the garden of allah

In the garden of allah