They sell images of the hanged
And all the streets have been closed off
The sailors have dolled themselves up
Now the circus is in town
In comes the envoy of the executors
He is blinded by success
His one hand he keeps around the line dancer
And the other on his crotch
The riot police fidget around
They'll soon take centre stage
We can see it when we look out
From the Avenue of the Lonely
For Cinderella everything is so easy
She says, one by one we become two
Then she pouts with her lips
To look like Brigitte Bardot
In comes Romeo and moans
"You are mine, right, as far as I know"
But someone says "you're in the wrong play, dude"
"It's best if you go"
And the only sound that remains
Once the ambulance has taken him too
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On the Avenue of the Lonely
The stars have almost disappeared
And the moon been covered by clouds
The fortune-telling g*psy woman
Has already packed up her stand
Everyone but Cain and Abel
And the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hunts for love
Or think it's too hot
The Good Samaritan
Has prepared himself to make an entrance
He'll go to a masquerade tonight
On the Avenue of the Lonely
Ophelia stands by my window
She makes me so nervous
For even though she's only twenty-four
She's already an old woman
For her death is romantic
And life but a mirage
Religion is her livelihood
But her sin is lifelessness
And though the turns to the sky
As if a miracle will happen
She glances more and more
Toward the Avenue of the Lonely
Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a bag
Went past here an hour ago
With his friend, a friar in black
He stared so terribly threateningly
When he asked for a cigarette
Then he recited from the alphabet
Before making his retreat
You wouldn't believe it now
But he was famous long ago
'Cause he was master of the electric violin
At the Avenue of the Lonely
Doctor Wise preserves the world
In a well-sealed box
Like his anemic adapter
Tries to wry open
His assistant, a lady derelict
With arsenic in her purse
Has a note where she's written
"Have mercy on his soul"
Then they play bamboo flutes
And you can hear every little flaw
If you lean far enough
Toward the Avenue of the Lonely
At the hours around midnight
The agents walk their rounds
To catch those unfortunates
That happen to know more than them
They take them to the factory
Where they're placed by a machine
Where the doctors check their pulses
After having injected kerosene
Then they're carried down from the castles
By ridiculous insurance men
That make sure no one escapes
To the Avenue of the Lonely
On the other side of the street
They have prepared for a party
The Phantom of the Opera
Is perfectly disguised as priest
They feed Casanova with a teaspoon
To give him back his courage
Then they'll cut out his heart
After suffocating him with words
And the Phantom curses at the girls
And says: "come, and you shall see"
Now Casanova will pay for
The Avenue of the Lonely
Only apt for Neptune
Titanic sets course toward its goal
While everyone stands and shouts
"Whose side are you on?"
On the bridge deck stand wrestling,
T.S. Elliot and Ezra Pound
While the calypso band's singers
Sprinkle roses on each other
At the windows toward the ocean
Where the mermaids smile
And no one pesters their brain
With the Avenue of the Lonely
Yeah, I got your letter two days ago
Right when the roof collapsed
When you asked me how I have it
Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?
And all the people that you name
Yeah, I know them case by case
But I got to change their faces
And give them new names
But I read a bit badly now
So don't send any more letters
If you don't post them
From the Avenue of the Lonely