[Verse 1: Exene Cervenka]
Memories are gettin' late
Not erased like tape
Not replaced with faith
Drivin' state to altered state
Holdin' foldin ' maps
On another payphone break
A big black X on a white marquee
A naked Christmas tree on fire
In a Cherokee alley
Silent movie genuflecting dream
Hangin' off bumpers and scrapin' off tar and leather
L.A. Riverbed
Drag strip on acid
And somethin' about a basement

[Chorus: Exene Cervenka and John Doe]
Stay awake and don't get taken
We knew the gutter
Also the future
Stay awake and don't get taken

[Verse 2: Exene Cervenka]
Hollywood letters fallin' down
Errol Flynn's abandoned mansion
Scary Hillside guy
Angel dust low-ridin' by
We swam into the Pacific and Windward intersection
Vietnam vet I met and cannot forget
Bikers on the 101 and 77 Sunset Strip
Old cars and new scars
78's on cassette tape
Afterhours blues escape
AM radio dedications
Madison, Lincoln, any old city
A tiny little X on a white marquee
[Chorus: Exene Cervenka and John Doe]
Stay awake and don't get taken
We knew the gutter
Also the future
Stay awake and don't get taken

[Bridge: John Doe]
You know what it meant to feel
To kneel and genuflect at the altar of the light
The green pool table at the Playboy bar
Long shot gone like those old cars towing kids from their bumpers in front of Club 88
Silent now and rusted
Couldn't get enough of cranking Merry-go-rounds
Like the blue sparks on the bumper cars on the Santa Monica pier
You reflect the light
You are not easily defeated

[Chorus: Exene Cervenka and John Doe]
Stay awake and don't get taken
We knew the gutter
Also the future
Stay awake and don't get taken
We knew the gutter
Also the future
Stay awake and don't get taken
We knew the gutter
Also the future
Stay awake and don't get taken
We knew the gutter
Also the future