(Shane MacGowan)

When I first came to London I was only sixteen

With a fiver in my pocket and my ole dancing bag

I went down to the dilly to check out the scene

And I soon ended up on the old main drag



There the he-males and the she-males paraded in style

And the old man with the money would flash you a smile

In the dark of an alley you'd work for a fiver

For a swift one off the wrist down on the old main drag



In the cold winter nights the old town it was chill

But there were boys in the cafes who'd give you cheap pills

If you didn't have the money you'd cajole or you'd beg

There was always lots of tuinol on the old main drag



One evening as I was lying down by Leicester Square

I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls

Between the metal doors at Vine Street I was beaten and mauled

And they ruined my good looks for the old main drag



In the tube station the old ones who were on the way out

Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout

And the coppers would come along and push them about

And I wished I could escape from the old main drag



And now I'm lying here I've had too much booze

I've been shat on and spat on and raped and abused

I know that I am dying and I wish I could beg

For some money to take me from the old main drag