Broadway Hotel

Album: Year Of The Cat (1976)
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  • You told the man in the Broadway Hotel
    Nothing was stranger than being yourself
    And he replied, with a tear in his eye
    Love was a rollaway
    Just a cajole away
    Mist on a summer's day
    Nothing was clear
    Love was a smile away
    Just a defile away
    I sought it every way
    No one came near.

    You asked the man for a room with a view
    Nothing was said as he stared at his shoe
    Then he replied as he gave you the key
    Love was a rollaway
    Just an unfold away
    That's all there is to say
    No one came near.

    Alone in your room you hide
    As the night rolls by
    In the street outside
    And you feel over the words he said
    Till they turn to rain all around your head

    You're seeking a hideaway
    Where the light of day
    Doesn't touch your face
    And a door sign keeps the world away
    Behind the shades
    Of your silent day.

    You made your home in the Broadway Hotel
    Room service came at the push of a bell
    And the man said as he put down the tray
    Love was a stealaway
    Just a reveal away
    I tried to find a way
    Nothing was clear
    Then as he turned away
    You asked the man to stay
    He was there all the day
    No-one came near Writer/s: ALISTAIR IAN STEWART
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 4

  • Jim from South JerseyI think it’s gay themed
  • Bill from San Francisco, CaAl almost always plays this in his live performances.
  • Tim from Cheyenne, WyMy guess is that woman would typically be about middle age and sort of attractive, but has seen better days professionally (whatever profession or heiress she might be) and wants absolutely no strings attached. On the slippery slope, so to speak. Remember, Times Square Broadway hotel(s) was/were in a pretty sleazy area in the 1970's and assuredly the hotel had not been so highscale then as has happened nowadays. Half world, as the french say. Not at all like now, Soho district, too.
  • Tim from Cheyenne, WyLook at the last stanza of the lyrics and it is clear that a kind of lost woman is giving in to a sort of a gigalo arrangement at a hotel by the room service. Since this is written by Al in the
    mid 1970's there are no other answers clear. Al, or some other narrative of unknown sex, is mentioning this to her in some fashion or another. (mildly scolding?) But, yes, being in hotel rooms as much as most famous singers do does put a personal observation edge to all.
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