They crowded up to Lenin with their noses worn off
A handshake is worthy if it's all that you got
Metal shoes on wood push through our backs
There's a splinter in your eye and it reads react
They shifted the statues for harboring ghosts
Reddened their necks, and collared their clothes
Then we danced the dance til the menace got out
She gathered the corners and called it her gown
She said
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
They crowded up to Lenin with their noses worn off
A handshake is worthy if it's all that you got
Metal shoes on wood pushed to our back
There's a splinter in your eye and it reads react
R E A C T
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
They've shifted the statues for harboring ghosts
Reddened their necks, and collared their clothes
Then we danced the dance til the menace got out
She gathered the corners and collared her gown
She said
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
on Reckoning, 1984
Mike Mills sings an entire alternate verse throughout this song. It's especially audible on live versions, but I've never been able to make out what he's singing.
Some lyric sites list the 'Metal...' lines as beginning 'Metal shivs on wood', but I've always heard 'Metal shoes'. Most lyric sites list the two 'Metal' lines identically, but I hear two different lines. Same with the 'shifted the statues' lines and the 'She gathered the corners' lines; I hear two slightly different phrasings for each.
On the album version, it really doesn't sound like Michael is singing 'we danced the dance til the menace got out', even though that's what I've written above. He sings that on many live versions, but on the album, it sounds more like 'we danced a bunch', 'we danced the bugs', 'we danced the both'?
I transcribe all lyrics by ear and write homonyms, linebreaks, commas, Etc as I hear them.
Write me if you hear the song differently.