The Young Thousands
Lyrics
Boats ease into the harbor bearing real suspicious cargo
And the sunlight on the water sets a switch off in your brain
The things that you've got coming will consume you
There's someone waiting out there in an alley with a chain
The ghosts that haunt your building are prepared to take on substance
And the dull pain that you live with isn't getting any duller
There's a closet full of almost-pristine videotape
Documenting sordid little scenes in living color
Here they come
The young thousands
Here they come
The young thousands
You drive east from the ocean with both hands tied on the wheel
And you go past Garden Grove as the pleasure index rises
The things that you've got coming will do things that you're afraid to
There is someone waiting out there with a mouthful of surprises
The ghosts that haunt your building have been learning how to breathe
They scan the hallways nightly, vainly searching for a sign
There must be diamonds somewhere in a place that stinks this bad
There are brighter things than diamonds coming down the line
Here they come
The young thousands
Here they come
The young thousands
Banter
- This is a song about how for so long you were fleeing from them. You know, and you, you saw their numbers dwindle, and you say, 'oh, I'm wearing 'em out, I've run long enough that there were [inaudible] number, there was half that, and a quarter that, and there was only a couple of them left, so I was done. I have evaded the young hundreds.' But no. They were only gathering their reinforcements. It's called 'The Young Thousands.' (2015-04-23)
- If you -- and I hope you don't, but -- if you find yourself in Costa Mesa and you need to buy heroin and you find yourself parked between two duplexes, waiting for the dude, hoping that a policeman doesn't pull up behind you because you'd have to back out to leave the alley between the duplexes. If you find yourself in this situation, then I'm thinking of you. I'd like to dedicate this song to that alley in Costa Mesa. (2016-04-19)
- This is a song about young people on speed. [audience cheers] You say 'woo' now. You may have cause to reflect upon that 'woo' in your future. Not about the song, I think the song is good. The speed itself, I'm not so sure about. I mean, it was good in terms of the quality. Morally, I'm less certain. (2017-06-02)
- "This is a song about some friends of mine who did not get the applause that they wanted, but they probably got the applause they deserved."(2017-11-12 Brooklyn Steel)
Live Performances
Footnotes