Downtown
City Shadows: Unveiling Desire and Deception in Lloyd Cole's Downtown
Lyrics
I want to take you down to the side of the city
I want to bring you to a less glamorous part of the city
Where the sun doesn't shine and the moon isn't pretty
Where there's little natural beauty or light
The slow train crawls in the nights and the days
Describing the slow movement of time
Are as warm as the smoke and the heat haze
Comparing the warmth to the smoky, hazy atmosphere
Yes and neon here twenty-four hours of the day
Constant presence of bright lights (neon) day and night
And you're sure looking pretty when it's hitting on your face
Seeing someone attractive when the light falls on their face
Looker on the corner take that dog for a donor
Observing someone with a dog, possibly for donation
Well she's only doing what her mother told her
She's following her upbringing or parental advice
I... I want to take you down
Repetition of the desire to bring someone to this place
I want to take you down
-I want to take you right down
-I... I want to take you down
-I want to take you down
-I want to take you right down
-I want to see a touch of evil in your eye
Wishing to see a darker or more mysterious side of the person
But all that I'm getting babe is sweetness and lies
Not getting the desired depth or truth, only pleasantness and lies
I want to see something that I might desire
Desiring something intriguing or attractive
I want to take you down babe into the mire
Expressing the wish to bring someone into a difficult situation
Deals going down no chance no masking
Illegal transactions happening openly
One thing's for sure never get what you're asking
Difficulty in obtaining what one desires
They're coming with johnsons, they're coming with knives
People are armed and ready to steal from you
They're robbing your boots when they give you a shoe shine
Exploitation happening while offering a service
I... I want to take you down
Repeated desire to take someone to this environment
I want to take you down
-I want to take you right down
-I... I want to take you down
-I want to take you down
-I want to take you right downtown
-Slow train down, babe, try twenty-nine
Emphasizing the inexorable movement forward
There's no looking back when there's no sense of time
When time seems indefinite, there's no room for retrospection
'Cause it's neon here twenty-four hours of the day
Reiterating the constant presence of bright lights
And you're sure looking pretty when it's hitting on your face
Reiteration of finding someone attractive in the light
With a touch of evil in your eye
Repeating the desire for a darker or mysterious quality in someone
With a touch of evil in your eye
-I want to take you down to the side of the city
Continued emphasis on wanting to bring someone to this place
I want to take you down to the blur of the city
-I... I want to take you down
-I want to take you down
-I want to take you right down
-I... I want to take you down
-I want to take you down
-Yes I want to take you right down
-I... I... I... I want to take you
Intensifying the desire to take someone to this environment
I... I... I... I want to take you
-I... Yes I want to take you right downtown
Reiterating the desire to take someone right into the heart of this city
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