Waits

Oh, I wish I was in New Orleans,
Walking down St. Charles Ave,
Towards downtown and the Quarter,
The street car is late,
But that’s nothing new,
Green, purple, and gold,
The beads hang from the telephone lines,
Audubon lush and green,
Fountain bare from rain,
The water is still clear,
Boys on the corner,
Playing sour notes,
On rented instruments,
But still I wish that I was in New Orleans,
Dirty sidewalks and dirtier gutters,
Decatur, Chartres, Royal, and Bourbon,
The streets that I call home,
The Mississippi rolling by,
Tumultuous and boiling,
Dirt and bones on the bottom,
Oh I would give anything to be in New Orleans,
And all the trash that glitters so,
My God I would do anything,
Just anything,
Or everything,
To be in that city,
The outline of the womb,
Of the river that carries our dreams south,
Towards everything and nothing,
And yeah they die in New Orleans,
Just like anywhere else,
And the fog is thick with whiskey and sin,
But boy I would,
I would do anything to be in New Orleans,
Right now.