Yawning or Snarling
El Paso Nights: Unveiling Ambiguous Tales in The Tragically Hip's Yawning or Snarling
Lyrics
One day in El Paso
Describes a day in El Paso
The cops go into the crowd
Police enter a crowd
Under a glaring bladder of light
Reference to bright lights
And the music is so loud
Loud music at the scene
And the tourists take their T-shirts off
Tourists removing T-shirts
A busload of kids gives you the finger
Kids on a bus gesture rudely
Afternoon when the sidewalk's hot
Hot sidewalk in the afternoon
And the shadow's too chilly to linger
Shadows too cold to stay
Walk past damaged goods and ugly trends
Pass damaged goods and trends
Past a strawman making a purchase
Observing a strawman making a purchase
Downtown where the river bends
Downtown by a bending river
They're just waiting for you to resurface
Waiting for someone to reappear
Take a look at this photograph
Reflecting on a photograph
Clearly, his teeth were bared
Teeth visible, uncertain expression
He could've been yawning or snarling
Could be yawning or snarling
The story was never clear
Story remains unclear
One night in El Paso
Another night in El Paso
The cops go into the crowd
Police again in the crowd
Under a throbbing bladder of light
Reference to bright lights
And the music is just so loud
Loud music at the scene
And the tourists turn their TVs off
Tourists turn off their TVs
And a bat sees the bug with the sound of a linger
Bat locates a bug by sound
Night time when the shadows cough
Shadows cough in the night
And you're chilled to the tips of your fingers
Fingers chilled in the cold
Walk past damaged goods and ugly trends
Pass damaged goods and trends
Past ol' strawman making a purchase
Observing a strawman making a purchase
Downtown where the river bends
Downtown by a bending river
They're just waiting for you to resurface
Waiting for someone to reappear
Take a look at this photograph
Reflecting on a photograph
Clearly, his teeth were bared
Teeth visible, uncertain expression
He could've been yawning or snarling
Could be yawning or snarling
This could've been anywhere
Location irrelevant, ambiguity persists
Take a look at this photograph
Reflecting on a photograph
Clearly, his teeth were bared
Teeth visible, uncertain expression
He could've been yawning or snarling
Could be yawning or snarling
The story was never clear
Story remains unclear
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