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There Goes the Neighborhood Lyrics
hey let's party let's get down let's turn the radio on
this is the meltdown
get out the camera take a picture
the drag queens and the freaks
are all out on the town
and cowboy jane's in bed
nursing a swollen head
sunshine sally and peter ustanov
don't like the scene anyhow
i dropped acid on a saturday night
just to see what the fuss was about
now there goes the neighborhood
the photo chick made to look sickly
is standing in her panties in the shower
she plays the guitar in the bathroom
while the police dust her mother's plastic flowers
and schooboy john's in jail
making a killing through the u s mail
sunshine sally and peter ustanov
don't like the scene anyhow
i dropped acid on a saturday night
just to see what the fuss was about
there goes the neighborhood
there goes the neighborhood
this is the movie of the screenplay of the book about a girl who meets a junkie
the messenger gets shot down just for carrying the message to a flunkie
we can't be certain who the villans are 'cuz everyone's so pretty
but the afterparty's sure to be a wing ding as it moves into your city
sunshine sally and peter ustanov
don't like the scene anyhow
i dropped acid on a saturday night
just to see what the stink was about
sunshine sally and peter ustanov
don't like the scene anyhow
i dropped acid on a saturday night
just to see what the fuss was about
there goes the neighborhood
there goes the neighborhood
Song Info
Submitted by
poprock27 On Dec 05, 2001
More Sheryl Crow
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Soak Up The Sun
Strong Enough
I Shall Believe
My Favorite Mistake
"The Neighborhood" is a surreal character study. Crow says, "My studio's in the meat-packing district, an area filled with Hell's Angels, transvestites and very colorful people. The song's about looking at surfaces and making judgment calls. Sadly enough, people do that all the time."" hiponline.com/artist/music/c/crow_sheryl/
This ballad sounds like a junkie's trip through the underbelly of Hollywood. I could be wrong about this one but it is really weird even by Crow's standards. It's a great song nonetheless, extremely weird though.
"And Cowboy Jane's in bed Nursing a swollen head"
Calamity Jane (probably the most famous cowboy Jane?) was an itinerant alcoholic, so being in bed nursing a swollen head may well be a reference to a major hangover following a night on the town?
"And Schoolboy John's in jail Making a killing through the U.S. Mail"
A reference to the UNABomber Theodore John Kaczynski who was a child prodigy, entering Harvard at age 16?
Sunshine Sally (Sally Strouth) was a presenter on a kids TV programme which aired on West Texas station KLBK-TV from 1976 to 1980. Crow grew up in Missouri, so most likely a reference to this character remembered from her teens? Peter Ustinov was British movie actor who also narrated a children's cartoon series called Dr Snuggles form the 1980's, so perhaps a reference in similar vein?
Quite stream of consciousness, but the obtuse lyrics are perhaps more meaningful than first appearances suggest? Memories of an acid trip, or attempt at John Lennonesque psychedelic lyrics?
Great song.