Nation of Heat

Across from the prison and beside the great lake Below the rooftops and above the highway The spirits pay rent on the basements they haunt And the pages just draw pictures of the things that they want I cook my dinner on the black top street I come from the nation of heat Outside the train station there's a bold painted sign It says try to be patient, don't forget to choose sides We got the loudest explosions you've ever heard We've got two dollar soldiers and ten dollar words If I didn't own boots I wouldn't need feet I come from the nation of heat So swift and so vicious are the carnival rides And the carnival barker will yell your name for a bribe We got billboards for love and Japanese cars It ain't rare to hear the street lights call themselves stars The more that I learn the more that I cheat I come from the nation of heat I've seen skeleton mothers and hungry folks Across the street from the kitchens that cook dinner the most Sometimes you hear whispers by the dark of the moon That we promised too much and gave it too soon Even our coughs and our fevers compete I come from the nation of heat Blocking borders with smiles are immigrant sons We measure loneliness in miles and misery in tons There's a straw-hatted man rowing away from the shore Who says it's a shame they don't let you have slaves here anymore I'm the ugliest man that you'll ever meet I come from the nation of heat