Streetlights

The song is about a girl from a downtrodden place in Europe, shoved aboard a boat either by her own choice or her family in hopes of reaching a better future, namely Seville, Spain;

"Shoved inside a container when fifteen Shipped on board a boat bound for Seville"

The crew of the ship finds her stowed away, sexually abused by the crew (recycled), and dumped off at the next port which happens to be Oslo;

"Recycled by the members of the crew She ends up on the streets of downtown Oslo"

Now destitute and without a place to call home, she continues to prostitute herself. She does so with a smile, but it most likely is killing her inside;

"And defiant and proud she stands her ground at night And I don't know how she feels but I know it ain't right"

Her story is told through the eye of an Oslo resident empathizing with her story, wishing it wasnt the way she had to live. He wishes she couldn't stand on the street corner at night, being illuminated and sold underneath the streetlights. He knows it doesn't matter though, as there will always be a need for her services;

"The treacherous streetlights call for the blinders glaring the dark sides of the rule of supply and demand I'll never be street wise but signs of the times I know will reveal themselves in beastly shapes"

She is quite beautiful though, and it makes this Oslo resident wonder about how she got to be where she is;

"Swinging hips and smiles from ivory teeth There is a darker story underneath"

Through his eyes, he has to admit that she does look rather tempting and can see how she is at least willing to do her job professionally;

"And you say, "She sure enough makes this part of town look good, now." Is it professional face that appeals the most to you?"

Hang in there, kid;

"And now swallow hard, play the game, get through the night, Get on And now, I don't know how she feels but I know it ain't right"

in my opinion, he talks about his teenage years living in Oslo, specifically during the night, the 'she' being Oslo