it was the day before christmas eve
you got on a bus and you left
you said you wanted to spend christmas alone this year
somewhere warm
so you picked key west

you got on a greyhound
heading south
you went down, down, down
two days later in that shiny sun
you were let down, down, down
the key west beach bum haven of the sixties
was nowhere to be found

you couldn't find a spot to sleep on the beach
yeah, this whole town was sold out
the whole town was sold out

so you bought a shitty bagel at a health food store
and your fake front tooth fell out
you were sitting on the step thinking
"what a mistake"
when these cool kids rolled into town
they were on bikes and they looked nice
so you gave them a toothless smile

when they were about to leave you gave them
and you sat there for a while
they came back and said
"that's the coolest thing that i've ever read
what are you doing here all alone?
you look like you need a friend."
and you did
and you found some
with them

you found out that they road their bikes from gainsville to key west
they invited you to buy a bike and to join them on their trip
there was another sam from canada but he got a job on a ship
you bought a bike and a bungee cord and you tied on your tent
and you left key west
with your newfound friends

after a few days on the road you were keeping up with them
you called me and you told me the story
and you said one of them was in a band
"they're called 'this bike is a pipe bomb' and we should do a record for them."
and i said "of course, of course we can."


Lyrics submitted by lazlowcarmichael

Key West song meanings
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