Downtown Canon Songtext
von Walter Becker

I cracked the code
And I knew what it′s all about
We found the loft on Greene Street
Swept that bad boy out
Alsatian wine — playing records way past four
Making some crazy soulful love
on the hard wood floor
(Where did our love go?)

You hung the picture
Of young Dizzy on the wall
According to me
That was the best day of them all
Sweet sweet words like honey from the tongue
Yes there was magic then
in every song we sung


Hey — don't let ′em kid you
Stay cool it'll be all right
Don't trade today for tomorrow
Tomorrow for tomorrow night
You chop wood — carry the water
Sometimes it be that way
No lie — the downtown canon
So wild so fresh so free
Stand by the downtown canon
I say that it′s got to be

Chasing sensation to remind us who we are
You met that half-crazed painter fool
in some damn bar
Cocaine dreams and chiba-chiba nights
You had to share his world in shades of
black and white — Didn′cha baby?

Yes I — it's a real good theory
Can you live with the day-to-day
Sure thing — no problemo
Sometimes it be that way
You go girl — it′s now or never
No one holds out that long
Says here — in the downtown canon
Keep it real it'll be okay
Right here — the downtown canon
Could it be any other way


Packed up the Dylan and the Man Ray and the Joyce
I left a note that said well I guess I got no choice
′S'cuse me girl while I′m kickin' it to the curb
I'm leaving with all I need but less than I deserve

She says "poor everybody
Never mind for me and you"
Too bad she don′t remember
Too bad that I still do
It all goes wrong in a hurry
You know it′s the Second Law
Writ large — in the downtown canon
It goes up and it must come down
Right here — the downtown canon
Catch you on the turnaround