Marc Almond: Shining sinners

Well I'm walkin' blind down danger street The street where eyes don't dare to meet Dirt-Doorways frame silhouettes A Teeth-Grind-Grinning smile of threat Down here you ask for all you get These East Side Angrys'll getchoo yet Ignore the cat calls look straight ahead You could wind up the other side of dead (If you're lucky) Well I took a glance sideways Straight into some Chicano chick's eyes They were pretty wild Like she'd been snortin' some of that cocaine She was mean for trouble Boilin' for blood But I had to say she was stacked >From the tip of her toes To her flaming red hair She's gonna drag me up to her Carnal Cage of no way out desire Help, Help You gotta help yourself Help me, Help me You son of a gun You gotta run muchacho run Well I was getting to know the neighbourhood Getting to know how it looked and smelled Watching the windows In tenement hell Love was rape And love for sale And death a fact of life Love was rare But who cares, who cares When you're living by the knife Well I took a slug of bitter coffee Pulled a face as bitter hit me End up with a new mouth Carved where my throat used to be And then I saw him Tall and proud Wearing the entire city garbage dump Around his neck and wrists And then I saw him Dirty red Chicano sweat bandanna And colours Held together by filth and fury Oh wow-ee-ow The Leader of the Shining Sinners The Leader of the Shining Sinners And she was by his side This Vampira I'd seen earlier She looked at me the look of scum Help, Help You gotta help yourself Help me, Help me You son of a gun You gotta run muchacho run He walked Did I say walked? Well I mean WAAALKED Right up to me at a slow pace He looked down at me and said "Shee-it!" My knees were bucklin' My brow was sweatin' I stared straight ahead at his knee cap I had to strike soon The Leader of the Shining Sinners Sweet 'n' sharp and Cool 'n' calm He lives for them They die for him Bitten through with nails of hatred He takes his band of laughing dead To gather up the wages of skin Keep my eyes upon the pavement Nothing else could save me In this battlefield of blood and bruises I'll take this brave stiletto And with all the courage left in my heart I'll . . . I'll take the life of the Leader of the Shining Sinners He lay upon the ground Coughing up blood He looked up at me Yes I was the big one now And said "I wanted to shake your hand You little runt For having the guts to walk into my neighbourhood I liked you!" And with that he died Leaderless and laughless The Wastrels of the Shining Sinners Lay me out like some dead cat on the ground I taste the taste of human filth My courage caves in on itself Now no-one's leading anyone anymore And I wondered what I did it for And I wondered what I did it for Why did I do it? Why? Why did I do it? Why - Why did I do it? Why? Why? Why?