| You were raised inside the Roosevelt Hotel
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| Your parents knew to treat you and they treated you well
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| You never had to apply yourself to anything at all
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| But girl you make it work, you wear it well
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| A combination of fabrics held together by the spell
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| That everybody falls into
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| When you walk into the room
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| Everybody drops their glass and swoons
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| Here come the Rats of New York City!
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| Well your daddy was a banker and your momma was a painter
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| But you never shared those sorts of goals, nah
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| You worked the other 9 to 5: good posture drunk out in the cold
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| When it’s time to die remember this
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| When your paradise has faded and your bones are wearing thin
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| Remember the garden walls
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| And the volumes of rare novels
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| Not to mention all the alcohol
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| It’s a fucking miracle we ever even lived
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| Here come the Rats of New York City!
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| Now, everybody break it down and clap:
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| Oh when the rats come rushing in
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| How I’ll hope to be in the Lord’s favor
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| When the rats come rushing in
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| When the towers start to fall
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| How I’ll hope to be in a basement
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| When the towers start to fall
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| And when the sirens start to wail
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| We’ll cut in line with the sinners
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| When the sirens start to wail
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| When the earth gets swallowed up
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| How I’ll hope to God I’ll be riding towards the sky
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| With Rats of New York riding up behind
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| And when we rev our engines and reach the other side
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| We’ll release, we’ll release, we’ll release
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| And then we’ll close the turnpike — transfiguration day
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| Open the car doors — let the radio play
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| We’ll be dancing softly in the light of day
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| Til the ferry comes and takes you away
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| To an asylum in the river where you’ll waste away
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| Now your final procession starts at Avenue A
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| We march your ashes through the borough towards the West Side Highway
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| You were the savior, the invader, you had the right of way
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| Your soul gets swallowed by the Hudson
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| It’s the river you hate
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| The preacher signals to the choir
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| And the boardwalk starts to shake
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| Now everybody bow your heads and pray: «Thank God for Rats» |