Close to the Borderline

Blackout, heat wave
.44 caliber homicide
The bums drop dead
And the dogs go mad
In packs on the West Side
Young girl standing on the edge
Looks like another suicide
She wants to hit those bricks
'Cause the news at six
Gotta stick to a deadline

While the millionaires hide at Bleekman Place
The bag ladies throw their bones in my face
I get attacked by a kid with stereo sound
I don't want to hear it but he won't turn it down
Life is tough but it's just enough
To hold back the tears 'til it's closing time
I survived, I'm still alive
But I'm getting close to the borderline

Close to the borderline

A buck, three, eighty
Won't buy you much lately
On the street these days
And when you can get gas
You know you can't drive fast
Anymore on the park ways
Rich man, poor man
Either way American
Shoved to the lost and found
The no-nukes yell,
"We're gonna all go to hell
With the next big meltdown"

I got remote control and a color TV
I don't change channels so they must change me
I got real close friends that are getting me high
They don't know how to talk and they ain't gonna try
I shouldn't bitch, I shouldn't cry
I'd start a revolution but I don't have time
I don't know why I'm still a nice guy
But I'm getting closer to the borderline

Close to the borderline

I thought I'd sacrificed so many things
I thought I'd throw them all away
I didn't think I needed anything
But you can't afford to squander
What you're not prepared to pay

I need a doctor for my pressure pills
I need a lawyer for my medical bills
I need a banker to finance my home
But I need security to back my loan
It isn't new, what I'm going through
But everybody knows you've gotta break sometime
Another night I fought the good fight
But I'm getting closer to the borderline

Closer to the borderline
Close to the borderline
Close to the borderline
Close to the borderline
To the borderline
To the borderline