Aw, you may be only Waller Street,
but we think you're 5th Avenue.
Sittin' in a tenement
and got no bread to pay the rent,
somebody roll up a smoke.
Rain is drippin' in the hall,
along the ceiling, down the wall,
got to have another toke.
(One more puff now).
Kitchen paint is wearin' thin,
lettin' all the roaches in,
and I don't mean the kind you can smoke.
Bill collector at my door
and I know what he wants me for,
but I haven't got any cash.
(No more bread now).
Eatin' out by candlelight,
candles keep us warm at night
and now I got this terrible rash.
(Oh, I scratch all over).
They took the water, left the pipes,
left the switches, took the lights.
How kind of them to leave us the trash!
I bent down to pet the cat,
but instead I found a furry rat
and now I'm havin' rat-tail soup.
(This is garbage).
Cops, they made a raid next door
and then they got the bottom floor,
there's nobody left but us two.
(Me and you now).
Paranoid and very stoned,
maybe I'm disaster-prone.
I'm talkin' 'bout the Waller Street blues.
(One, two, three, four!)
Aw, bring it down.
You know, I bent down to pet the cat
and instead I found a furry rat.
Aw, now we're havin' rat-tail soup.
You know, the cops,
they made a raid next door
and then they got the bottom floor,
there's nobody left but us two.
I'm paranoid and very stoned,
maybe I'm disaster-prone.
I'm talkin' 'bout the Waller Street blues.