She's 15 and she's leaving home
Living on the streets where she don't feel alone
Daddy's always gone and mommy's on the sauce
Living in a mansion it's easy to get lost
She's going to a place where they understand
Baby's on the way her womb's a garbage can
Who said anything about a good life
This one's bad bad bad bad
Gonzo again just another entry to the never ending story
Wasted again I think you need a new best friend

Nervous in the alley off the boulevard
Shaking all over and the panic starts
You see she needs to get her prescription filled
And she knows exactly how she'll be billed
Nervous in the alley waiting for a fix
She ain't got no money just a couple of tricks

Who said anything about a charmed life
This one's sad sad sad sad
Gonzo again, just another entry to the never ending story
Wasted again, I think you need a new best friend

Who said anything about a good life
Who said anything about a charmed life
Who said anything about a fair life
It's mad

Dying in the alley waiting for her man
Carrying her child and a sleeping bag
Should have would have could have never crossed her mind
So she passes on to the other side
Here he comes suit shades car and a beeper
Sugar daddy pimp pushing fucking grim reaper

Who said anything about a fair life
This one's mad mad mad mad
Gonzo again, just another entry to the never ending story
Wasted again, I think you need a new friend
Gonzo again, just another entry to the never ending story
Wasted again, she's got herself a new best friend


Lyrics submitted by NtoTheDrk, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Nervous in the Alley Lyrics as written by Gregory D. Camp Greg Camp

Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Nervous In The Alley song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

6 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    A girl runs away from home and becomes a pregnant, drug addicted prostitute and then dies. Man what a downer

    Zatchon July 13, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    the song is about run away kids living on North First street in san jose. most of them come from pretty well-off families. "living in a mansion, its easy to get lost" so yeah..

    marcosturmon July 29, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I disagree, I don't think it's a reference to the muppet. The word "gonzo" means unconventional or strange, so I think the song was saying that though her death was not what would have been expected of her, she still ended up with "a new best friend..." or in heaven - albeit in an unusual, unfortunate manner.

    wildernesson December 08, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i forgot to add that carson daly used to be a dj here in san jose like 1995-1996 (98.5 KOME) and he played this song alot, before waliking on the sun came out, and when smash mouth was still unsigned

    marcosturmon July 29, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Gonzo the muppet, he was like without a home and sad, so the song is saying that this guy is lost and sad.

    BennyPalermoon September 07, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    what does the gonzo part mean, does anyone know?

    bfcobblerman08on December 16, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.