From the recording Preachermansays Sampler
Lyrics
Lifeboat
Jimmy is walking down 17th Street Avenue, Parkway, Boulevard
Minding his own Business, Trying to stay out of trouble,
When he sees at his feet a poem,
And this poem if you can believe it
Looks exactly like a bottle of Victoria Bitter (beer)
and the poem says," Warning may impair Judgement"
It says "Warning may impair judgement in pregnant women who smoke"
"Warning may impair judgement in ambulance drivers and flight attendants"
"Warning may impair judgement in young boys with no future and nothing but shotgun dreams"
"Stop Don't"
But Jimmy downs the poem in one and throws the bottle into the gutter
Where it explodes into a firework of gold glass
And Jimmy says "Oooooo" and Jimmy says "AAAHHH"
And continues on down to the corner
Where he sees an old man standing on a milk crate
The old man is gesticulating wildly, waving his hands
Pointing up at the stop sign
He starts smacking his head, tugging his beard grabbing his coat
And flapping his arms like wings
Then with the help of his fingers, he raises his eyebrows
Looks at Jimmy and says,
Everybody get in the Lifeboat
'Cause this ship is going down
Well Jimmy pays the man no heed and crosses the street
When he comes to the next corner he sees a young lady
And she is hardly wearing more than the shadows of the lamplight
She motions to him to come closer, come closer
And she whispers softly in his ear,
"Fifteen minutes for fifteen dollars"
"Fifteen minutes for fifteen dollars"
And Jimmy thinks, my what a judicious correspondence between time and money
One to one, hand in hand, ring around the rosie
So the young lady ends up fifteen dollars richer,
Jimmy is fifteen minutes poorer
and no one is any wiser
Then while crossing the next street, Jimmy stops to pick up another poem
and is hit by the 507 crosstown bus
Hit by the Big Bus Broadside
Bye Bye Jimmy
Now you may think,
Had Jimmy heeded the warnings, left the poems alone
or been just fifteen minutes earlier
things might have been different
But it's not always that simple
'Cause sometimes you catch the bus,
And sometime the bus catches you.
Everybody get in the Lifeboat
'Cause this ship is going down