Better Off Dead

Album: Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
Play Video
  • There was a face on a hoarding that someone had drawn on
    And just enough time for the night to pass by without warning
    Away in the distance there's a blue flashing light
    Someone's in trouble somewhere tonight
    As the flickering neon stands ready to fuse
    The wind blows away all of yesterday's news

    Well they've locked up their daughters and they battened the hatches
    They always could find us but they never could catch us
    Through the grease streaked windows of an all night cafe
    We watched the arrested get taken away
    And that cigarette haze has ecology beat
    As the whores and the drunks filed in from the street

    Cause the steam's in the boiler, the coal's in the fire
    If you ask how I am, then I'll just say inspired
    If the thorn of a rose, is the thorn in your side
    Then you're better off dead, if you haven't yet died Writer/s: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Edward Felson from CaliforniaAnyone else bothered about the first line not really rhyming? Taupin's lyrics and rhymes are always top notch so I'm surprised -- I wonder if the first line was really meant to be: "There was a face that someone had drawn on a hoarding" which would then make "hoarding" rhyme with "warning." "Drawn on" and "warning" don't rhyme -- and see all the other line rhymes....
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).