Noel’s Lament

In my life
I was Noel Gruber
Who worked at Taco Bell
In Uranium City, Saskatchewan
But in my dreams
I played a different role
I was Monique Gibeau
In post, war, France

A hooker with a heart of black charcoal
I write poems to burn by firelight
Drink champagne and guzzle gin
Good girls call me "The town bicycle"
Don't knock it 'til you've tried my life of sin

Oh Claude, my pimp knows, never mess with me
The last prick did that faded quick to black
I have no idea where to find him, officers
But if you do
Please mention that I'd like to have returned the pretty knife
That I stuck ten times in his back

For I sing songs until the break of dawn
I embrace a new man every night
My life's one never-ending carnival
A whirl of boozy-floozy flashing light
I want to be that -up girl

He said "I think I am in love with you"
I've heard that lie a million times before
Oh, tonight I give in to the fantasy
Take love when you can, when you're a whore

For I sing songs until the break of dawn
I embrace a new man every night
My life's one never-ending carnival
A whirl of boozy-floozy flashing light
I want to be that -up girl

So now I sell my love for opium
In some rat-infested Chinese dive
At night I burn myself with cigarettes
Just to somehow prove I'm still alive
Eight months later, I catch typhoid flu
Kicked out, I see the ugly light of day
Dying in an alley, a priest kneels down to me

My child, do you have any final words to the Lord you'd like to say?
Oui, tell him that, like him, I choose to burn out, rather than fade away!

For I sing songs until the break of dawn
I embrace a new man every night
My life's one never-ending carnival
A whirl of boozy-floozy flashing light
For I sing songs until the break of dawn
I embrace a new man every night
My life's one never-ending carnival
A whirl of boozy-floozy flashing light
I wanna be that -up girl
Wanna be that -up

(Girl) broken heart, a flask of gin
Tattooed with a safety pin
Teeth all stained with nicotine
Running nylons, shattered dreams
(Oh) super crusty, holy terror
Wild eyes and black mascara

(Oh) broken heart, a flask of gin
Tattooed with a safety pin
(Oh) teeth all stained with nicotine
Running nylons, shattered dreams
Super crusty, holy terror
Wild eyes and black mascara

If I could have just one dream
(If he could have just one dream)
I'd be that -up girl!
Hey!