In matching blue raincoats
Our shoes were our show boats
We kicked around
From stairway to station
We made a sensation
With the gadabout crowd
And oh, what a bargain
We're two easy targets
For the old men at the off-tracks
Who've paid in palaver
And crumpled old dollars
Which we squirreled away
In our rat trap hotel by the freeway
And we slept-in Sundays

Your parents were anxious
Your cool was contagious
At the old school
You left without leaving
A note for your grieving
Sweet mother, while
Your brother was so cruel
And here in the alleys
Your spirits were rallied
As you learned quick to make a fast buck
In bathrooms and barrooms
On dumpsters and heirlooms
We bit our tongues
Sucked our lips into our lungs 'til we were falling
Such was our calling

And here in our hollow we fuse like a family
But I will not mourn for you
So take up your makeup
And pocket your pills away
We're kings among runaways
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall

Among all the urchins and old Chinese merchants
Of the old town
We reigned at the pool hall
With one iron cue ball
And we never let the bastards get us down
And we laughed off the quick tricks
The old men with limp dicks
On the colonnades of the waterfront park
As four in the morning came on, cold and boring
We huddled close
In the bus stop enclosure enfolding
Our hands tightly holding

But here in our hollow we fuse like a family
But I will not mourn for you
So take up your makeup
And pocket your pills away
We're kings among runaways
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
We're down
On the bus mall
We're down
Down on the bus mall
Oh ooh oh


Lyrics submitted by EyesSoBright, edited by thendofthetour

On the Bus Mall Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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On the Bus Mall song meanings
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  • +3
    General Comment

    OK - just going to interject here!

    WHY IS EVERYONE SO PREOCCUPIED WITH WHETHER THE CHARACTERS ARE MALE OR FEMALE??

    THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THE SONG.

    Alright - yes, the song is obviously about two youths (My first impression was that they were male, but again, it really doesnt matter,) who run away from home and learn how to live on the streets by turning tricks (aka prostitution.)

    However, that's just the surface.

    There are more subtle points to this song - such lovely things. Like how the two have a bond between them... They're in it together, there is love there (whether that goes onto romantic/sexual love DOESNT MATTER EITHER.) It's the partnership, the companion ship - they are all eachother has in the entire world! "...we huddled close... in the bus stop enclosure enfolding.... our hands tightly holding..." That's the most important part of the song. The two of them turn tricks and do whatever they can to survive.. then at that moment they realize that all they really have is eachother. It's beautiful.

    kaotic73on April 10, 2012   Link

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