Zurich

you meet out on the midnight street

underneath the lamplight bright

outside the diamond jewelry windows

dazzling your sight tonight

and something in the blood that pounds

echoes in the hollow sound

and it all comes tumbling down

in Zurich

it’s taught among the rules of school

that all that glitters must be gold

and those who would not play the fool

must follow in the social mold

oh but the well to do

beautiful people in public view

ain’t got time for the likes of you

in Zurich

it all begins one morning fine

when the government money comes to town

a fortune goes to the opera

but not a penny trickles down

to the youth center in the middle of town

gonna have to close it down

can’t afford to have you hangin’ ‘round

in Zurich

all in a shattering instant then

upon that well remembered night

in a sudden clash with bricks and bottles

comes a most surprising sight

as fired with a smoldering heat

five thousand angry rebels meet

and break every window on that most beautiful street

in Zurich

anarchy on streets of gold

lights a-flashing, sirens wail

frightened eyes behind the windows

watch the young ones off to jail

soldiers in their shouldered ranks

armed with water canon tanks

and rubber bullets to protect the banks

of Zurich

battle lines are clearly drawn

to show which side you’re standing on

those who sympathize in kind

wake up to find their jobs are gone

speaking up and speaking out

depends on what you talk about

the real right is coming out

in Zurich

how can such a trouble be

is this the writing on the wall

the pillars of society

give a very anxious call

and orderly they call for peace

discipline to say the least

what we need is more police

in Zurich

from the gardens of Geneva

to the flowered streets of Amsterdam

inside the walls of West Berlin

trouble passes hand to hand

in among these times that be

no future do they see

that’s the way it was explained to me

in Zurich