Dirty City

Album: Nine Lives (2008)
Play Video
  • The gangster came to see by boy
    When I was working nights to pay one more bill
    He promised the kid a sweeter life
    Said, "Gotta understand it's dog eat dog out there"
    Well I looked in his room when I got home
    And underneath the covers found a loaded gun
    He looked at me with empty eyes
    He said, "It's time for me to be moving on"

    [Chorus]
    Dirty city, this is a dirty town
    Where's the pity, I can't move on up to higher ground

    I spoke to my woman the other day
    She said, "I need more cash we can't pay our way"
    She said, "Everything gets really hard
    And I need something sweet, don't you understand?"
    The roar of the train runs by my room
    And on these summer nights I can't sleep anymore
    I walk in the streets to greet the dawn
    Or stay at home all night and stare at the floor

    [Chorus: x2]

    Help me now
    Move on to a higher ground
    Help somehow
    Make a move to a higher ground
    Won't you help somehow
    Make a move to a higher ground
    Won't you help somehow
    I need a little help

    [Chorus] Writer/s: PETER DOUGLAS GODWIN, PETER GODWIN, STEPHEN LAWRENCE WINWOOD, STEVE WINWOOD
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Greg from Sharon Hill, PaThis is a great song, by two great musicians. Clapton's guitar playing compliments Winwood's voice very well.

    Clapton's guitar playing in the last 2+ minutes of the album version is pure genius
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.