Tonight the Lights Go Out

It is 1977, the 13th of July

Heatwave in New York City, the temperature is high

And there is lightning building up, up there in the sky

Little do the people know,

Tonight the lights go out.

*****

8.37 pm now, the first bolt of lightning strikes

Twenty minutes later another flashes ‘cross the night

The power plant is worried now, something isn’t right:

Little do the people know,

Tonight the lights go out.

*****

And New York City’s tired, its economy’s a mess.

Poverty, inequality, so many issues to address

The crime rate is already high, the people are in distress!

And yet, while it’s still hot and wet,

Tonight the lights go out.

*****

Then one by one, like dominoes, the streetlamps flicker off —

Air cons and TVs shut down too, the elevator’s stopped.

For a second, there is

Silence

You could’ve heard a needle drop

The never-sleep city is in the dark,

Just now, the lights went out.

*****

And at first there is laughter from the people of New York,

That can-do attitude: “This ain’t nothing we can’t endure!”

But then — the sound of breaking glass — and the people aren’t so sure

That New York can be peaceful tonight,

Tonight when the lights are out.

*****

Panic is sparked and building now, there’s tension in the air —

Hoodlums and gangs are giddy now, you hear it everywhere —

We’re in a freakish frenzy now, they take what they think is theirs —

Spoils will be enjoyed tonight,

When the lights are out!

*****

And the looting is now commonplace, just grab anything you can!

TVs, canned food, hairbrushes, and the pots and pans!

It’s ok, the police are understaffed, they don’t give a damn!

New York is rough, we don’t have enough —

Act now, when the lights are out!

*****

Walk down the Bushwick neighbourhood, you hear another crack —

But this time something sinister follows after that —

You follow the sound and turn around, see a building full of flats,

The fire’s engulfed it entirely!

Bonfire when the lights are out!

*****

One, two, three, four buildings set ablaze;

Five, six, seven, eight more go up in flames;

Roaring red against dreadful dark, you’d see it in space:

New York City is burning now,

When the lights are out!

*****

Oh God help us all!

New York City is burning now,

When the lights are out.