Lost in the Flood (1973)

The ragamuffin gunner is returnin' home like a hungry runaway 
He walks through town all alone--"He must be from the fort," he hears the high school girls say 
His countryside's burnin' with wolfman fairies dressed in drag for homicide 
The hit-and-run plead sanctuary, 'neath a holy stone they hide 
They're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection 
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls, pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception 
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood 
Sticker smiles sweet as Gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud 
And I said, "Hey, gunner man, that's qucksand, that's quicksand, that ain't mud 
Have you thrown your senses to the war, or did you lose them in the flood?" 

That pure American brother, dull-eyed and empty-faced 
Races Sundays in Jersey in a Chevy stock super eight 
He rides 'er low on the hip, on the side he's got "Bound for Glory" in red, white and blue flash paint 
He leans on the hood telling racing stories, the kids call him Jimmy the Saint 
Well, that blaze-and-noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point 
He rides head first into a hurricane and disappears into a point 
And there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell, that is, nothin' left that you could sell 
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell 
And I said, "Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil, that's blood" 
I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm, or was he just lost in the flood? 

Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air 
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she's puttin' on me the stare 
And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware 
Everything stops, you hear five quick shots, the cops come up for air 
And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they're shootin' up the street 
And that cat from the Bronx starts lettin' loose, but he gets blown right off his feet 
And some kid comes blastin' 'round the corner, but a cop puts him right away 
He lays on the street holding his leg, screaming something in Spanish, still breathing when I walked away 
And somebody said, "Hey man, did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud" 
I wonder what the dude was sayin', or was he just lost in the flood? 
Hey man, did you see that, those poor cats are sure messed up 
I wonder what they were gettin' into, or were they just lost in the flood?