Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Is everyone afraid?
Is everyone ashamed?
They're running towards their holes to find out
Apocalyptic thieves
Are lost amongst our dead
A message to our friends, to get out
There's wagers on this fear
Oh, oh, so clear
Depends on what you'll pay to hear
They're bound to kill us all
In white-washed halls
The jackals lick their paws
Please don't stop
It's lonely at the top
These lonely days
Will they ever stop?
This doomsday clock
Tickin' in my heart, not broken
I love life everyday, each and every way
Kafka would be proud to find out
I'm certain of the end; it's the means that has me spooked
It takes an unknown truth to get out
I guess that I'm born free, c'est la vi
I was meant to beg from my knees
Please, don't stop
It's lonely at the top
These lonely days
Will they ever stop?
This doomsday clock
Tickin' in my heart
These lonely days, will they ever stop?
Gotta dig in
Gas mask's on
Wait in the sunshine overhead
If this is living, sakes alive
Well, then, we can't win, no one survives
Is everyone afraid?
You should be ashamed
Apocalyptic screams mean nothing to the dead
Kiss your little son to know all there is
C'mon, last call!
You should want it all!
It's lonely at the top
These lonely days, will they ever stop?
This doomsday clock
These lonely days, will they ever stop?
It's tickin' in my heart
Is everyone afraid?
Is everyone ashamed?
They're running towards their holes to find out
Apocalyptic thieves
Are lost amongst our dead
A message to our friends, to get out
There's wagers on this fear
Oh, oh, so clear
Depends on what you'll pay to hear
They're bound to kill us all
In white-washed halls
The jackals lick their paws
Please don't stop
It's lonely at the top
These lonely days
Will they ever stop?
This doomsday clock
Tickin' in my heart, not broken
I love life everyday, each and every way
Kafka would be proud to find out
I'm certain of the end; it's the means that has me spooked
It takes an unknown truth to get out
I guess that I'm born free, c'est la vi
I was meant to beg from my knees
Please, don't stop
It's lonely at the top
These lonely days
Will they ever stop?
This doomsday clock
Tickin' in my heart
These lonely days, will they ever stop?
Gotta dig in
Gas mask's on
Wait in the sunshine overhead
If this is living, sakes alive
Well, then, we can't win, no one survives
Is everyone afraid?
You should be ashamed
Apocalyptic screams mean nothing to the dead
Kiss your little son to know all there is
C'mon, last call!
You should want it all!
It's lonely at the top
These lonely days, will they ever stop?
This doomsday clock
These lonely days, will they ever stop?
It's tickin' in my heart
Is everyone afraid?
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
"I GOT A DICK"