Barefoot In New York

I really wanted to stay awake (He wanted to) I was trying to stay awake (He was trying to stay awake) And it was about 7:00 on Sunday morning I'd been up all night and I knew I Had to finish my work (He knew he had to) I knew I had to As I looked out the window It was bright sunlight On the orange bricks of the next building Very bright sight somehow reflecting And through the window If I was able to understand I guess why I (He couldn't understand) couldn't stay awake It was not conscious Before I'd realized I couldn't stay awake anymore But now it's even worse than before I was listening to a tape of a lecture on (He was listening to a tape) Buddhism at which I was present I (He was at the lecture) heard myself Asking a lot of stupid questions (He was asking a lot of stupid questions) I was thickheaded at the lecture Sitting there on the floor But to hear it all now, it's even worse than before Those shoes I had were some name That I can't remember (He can't remember the name) I found them in a wastebasket about to be emptied They're mostly the only shoes I wear When I found them, they had been worn The bottoms were worn off Worn off on the edges But they were mostly in good shape (Really great shape) When I found out they fit me, I was very happy But there was something about them that Sticks to the floor when I walk (They stick to the floor when he walks) It makes a noise I kept wearing them They got, got wet many times, and now the stitches That hold them together on the sides is coming apart (Shoes are coming apart) everywhere And you can see my colored socks in the hole where they come apart But they stick to the floor when I walk still (They stick to the floor and they're coming apart) Very noticeable I stepped in some sticky stuff that spilled by the door Since then, it's even worse than before On Broadway one night There was this fairly high pitched, loud, loud tone That sounded like (It sounded like) a siren People were looking around to see Where it came from The food store on the corner provided a lot of the light Because it was open (Because it was open) Pretty soon I realized that the sound was coming from (He realized the sound was coming from the hood of this one car) The hood of this one car that was parked on the street nearby Yet was empty and locked (And locked) As you walked toward it And became even louder I first noticed the sound when I walked past the store But now it's even worse than before I really wanted to show somehow how things deteriorate Or how one bad thing (Bad thing, bad thing) Leads to another At first, there were plenty of things to point to Lots of people, places, things, ideas (People, places, things, ideas) Turning to shit everywhere (Everywhere) I could describe these instances But the more I thought about them (The more he thought about them) The less they seemed to be negative things But appeared as the seeds of something completely new and productive And (And) I couldn't talk about them in the same way But I knew it was true that there really are Dangerous crises Occurring in many different places But I was blind to them then Once it was easy to find something to deplore But now it's even worse than before The question is whether or not This kind of music is going to hypnotize you Do you resent being made to listen to This monotonous music Or having to listen to Such boring sentences? Friends have said that by producing this kind of music (This kind) People are put to sleep In fact, I've always thought this (He always thought this too) too I've always disliked the Rolling Stones Since I found out what they were up to (He found out what they were up to) So when the prospect of doing this very hypnotic music came to my mind I realized that I should at least bring up the problems of Listening to this kind of rhythm That its regularity may temporarily take your mind off The more important tasks we have I had to decide if it was in our best (He had to decide) Interest to present this But now that I went ahead and did it after asking what it was for Now, it's even worse than before.