328 chapter nine
and at twenty you get fat
and at thirty they cut out your gall-bladder
and at forty you’re out of breath after doing it once with a crumpet
and at fifty you’re dead in the street
and dumb shits who squander their prime like booze have no home to go to
and they’re out on the street and they’re dripping with rain
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip-a-drip
dripping and dripping
now all hail the clap
and the beijing madam talks down to you
and this here ain’t no backwater like your own
and one shot’ll cost you three hundred no less
and if you’ve got dollars that’s even better
and countryside deputy heads of department have no home to go to
and they’re out on the street and they’re dripping with rain
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip-a-drip
dripping and dripping
now all hail the clap
and he’s sent his daughter to harvard
and rich daddy himself drives a big old mercedes
and from the fourth ring road you can see the fifth
and a big old au-di will take you straight to the au-lympic village
and the motherland and the people have reached an understanding
and the poor and the artists spoil the city’s pretty face
and why not chase’em all into the street dripping with rain
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip-a-drip
dripping and dripping
now all hail the clap
and who says time flies when you’re having fun
and who says steamed buns are good when you’re hungry
and that thing squatting by the road is a man not a dirty dog
and why all the gullies below every highway
and i write and i write and i’m just about getting high
and a little hurt if you call me affected
and why not chase bastards like me into the street dripping with rain
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip-a-drip
dripping and dripping
now all hail the clap