Lyrics On the Dark Side of Town - Janis Ian

On the Dark Side of Town

I wound up talking with your wife
She says you’ve got another life
Thought you’d finally settled down
But you keep on going 'round to the dark side of town
She says you promise not to stray
Then you make your getaway
And she prays for it to pass, and you say that it won’t last
Because you’re going nowhere fast
On the dark side of town, where new lovers meet
At the old lost and found on the edge of the street
And the noon shadows hide from the fires outside
On the dark side of town, where some woman waits
To worship your crown, to burn at your stake
I lay myself down on the dark side of town
She says you fill her with desire
But when you want her, you’re a liar
She can taste it on your breath
Cutting through the cigarette
She can smell it on your sweat
You’ve been taking off your ring
Women see these little things
You might think it doesn’t show
But it shows how far you’ll go
To feed the fire down below
On the dark side of town, where new lovers meet
At the old lost and found on the edge of the street
And the noon shadows hide from the fire outside
On the dark side of town, where some woman waits
To worship your crown, to burn at your stake
I lay myself down on the dark side of town
I said — I know that woman well
And I will see her soul in hell
Before I let her carry on 'til all your hope is gone
Man, you should have seen her smile
Like she’d known it all the while
And she said — thank you from me and my child
Thank you from me and my child
On the dark side of town, where new lovers meet
At the old lost and found on the edge of the street
And the noon shadows hide from the fire outside
On the dark side of town, where some woman waits
To worship your crown, to burn at your stake
I lay myself down on the dark side of town