Sane, sane, they're all insane
Fireman's blind, the conductor's lame
A Cincinnati jacket and a sad luck dame
Hanging out the window with a bottle full of rain
Clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands

Said roar, roar, the thunder and the roar
Son bitch is never coming back here no more
The moon in the window and a bird on the pole
We can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal
Clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands

Said steam, steam, a hundred bad dreams
Going up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans
A fifty dollar bill inside a paladin's hat
And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at

Roar, roar, the thunder and the roar
Son bitch is never coming back here no more
Moon in the window and a bird on the pole
Always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal
Clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands

I said steam, steam, we're a hundred bad dreams
Going up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans
A fifty dollar bill inside a paladin's hat
And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at

Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime
All the way to Baltimore and running out of time
The Salvation Army seemed to wind up in the hole
They all went to heaven in a little row boat
Clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands
Well, clap hands, yeah, well, clap hands, yeah
Oh, clap hands, clap hands


Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira, edited by ktony

Clap Hands Lyrics as written by Thomas Alan Waits

Lyrics © JALMA MUSIC

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Clap Hands song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    Awesome song!!!

    well my interpritation of this song is; it's a song about the common man being sent to war, the fireman the conductor and how these people, when and if they come back are never the same again, or sane!

    "we can an always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal" is refering to how, in times of war, the wealthy are content to do the donky work, whilst the working class are being killed and maimed in action.

    "Roar, roar, the thunder and the roar" could this be the sound of war.

    "A fifty-dollar bill inside a palladin's hat" Reference to a palladin, which is a sword fighter/soldier.

    "And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at" could this be a reference to the fact that, the ice-cream man no longer drives by, as he too has met an unlucky end?

    franksblackdogon October 16, 2011   Link

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