Jane Siberry
Grace Hospital
[Verse 1]
I'm walkin' down the corridor
Of the seventh floor of the Grace Hospital
I'm gonna make it to the end
I'm gonna smoke a cigarette
Because a cigarette is my only friend
I can hear my slippers slappin'
I can feel my gown a-flappin'
I've got my whole being set into making it to the end
Of the seventh floor corridor of the Grace Hospital
These are my people
Hello Joe, how ya doin'?
Don't I take good care of you, Joe?
Mrs. Bergman, how you doin'?
What? No, I don't have your mail!
I'm gonna make it to the end
And when I make it to the end I will smoke my cigarette
They make it very hard to smoke here but I've got it all figured out
Make it hard and it builds up your strength
They don't want you to check out
[Chorus]
Oh, there's a man in traffic below
He's all revved up with nowhere to go
He's a-cursin' and swearin', watchin' the raindrops roll
Roll down his windshield
And he's stuck in rush hour traffic and he's sayin'
"Oh, I shoulda bought that farm
I woulda been home by now
I woulda been milkin' cows and sloppin' pigs
And sayin' benign things to my benign wife
Instead of sittin' here lookin' up the tailpipe
Of someone I do not even know and probably wouldn't like
And lookin' up at the face
At the end of the seventh floor of the Grace Hospital"
[Verse 2]
Oh, I'm walking down the corridor
Of the seventh floor of the Grace Hospital
Everything's green here
Like a green nightmare
They come every Thursday morning
They spend an hour in the boardroom making decisions like this
They say, "Oh yeah. Green like the grass, like the trees
That'll make everyone brighten up and feel so happy
Make them feel so pleased!"
Well, I'm so pleased when I get out of here
I'm gonna write fuckin' greeting cards
Tellin' everyone how sweet it is here
Oh, it just reminds everybody of their own shit and their own puke And oh, the blonde, she pats her hair
And she tastes aluminum chlorohydrate on her fingertips
And oh—
"Daniel!"
Yes?
"Would you come into the office please"
I'm walkin' down the corridor of the Grace Hospital
I'm gonna look out at the rain, at the sweet, sweet rain
[Chorus]
There's a man in traffic below
He's all revved up with nowhere to go
He's cursin' and swearin', watchin' the goddamn raindrops roll
Roll down his windshield
And he's, oh he's sayin'
"Oh, I shoulda bought that farm in the country
I woulda been home by now
I woulda been sloppin' pigs and milkin' cows
Instead I'm sitting here in rush hour traffic
Lookin' up the tailpipe of someone I do not know
And probably would not even like
And oh, and watchin' this face
At the end of the seventh corridor Grace Hospital
Lookin' out at the goddamn rain"
[Verse 3]
I'm walkin' down the corridor
Oh, I'm startin' to get withdrawal
Oh, but I'm gonna make it to the end
I can feel my gown a-flappin'
And I can hear my slippers slappin'
Oh, oh, hello Mrs. Bergman
No, I don't have the goddamn mail!
And if you don't keep your dog tied up
I'm gonna have the dog catcher come
I don't care if you're ninety years old, you're gonna go any minute
And he's sixteen and you've been together all this time
He's gonna take him away
Don't ask me for the mail
"Daniel, will you come into the office?"
[Verse 4]
I'm walking down the corridor of the Grace Hospital
Me and my bride
There's gonna be a wedding today
I'm feeling so happy inside
Oh me and my rolling bride
Here we go hand in hand, needle in arm
She is my only friend
Oh, when I get to the end I will look out at the traffic below
And I will, I will smile sort of sweetly and tilt my head
And everyone will look up and think that I'm lookin' out at the rain
As if it's the sweetest thing I've ever seen
And Grace Hospital is a terminal hospital
And everybody knows that
And maybe that's why the food's so bad
And can I see your fuckin' boarding passes please... oh!
Last night someone came into my room
And they took my bag of sugar water
And must have changed it for some strange potion
'Cause now I feel like I'm floatin' on some strange ocean
[Chorus]
There's a man in traffic below
He's all revved up and nowhere to go
And he's cursin' and swearin' and watchin' the raindrops roll
Sayin', "I shoulda bought that farm in the country
I, I woulda been home by now
I woulda been milkin' cows and sloppin' pigs
And I don't know
Instead I'm sittin' here in traffic lookin' up at this white balloon
At the end of a liquid string
At the end of the seventh floor of the Grace Hospital
Lookin' out at the, the goddamn rain
Like it's the sweetest thing that he's ever seen"
[Post-Chorus]
Oh, I'm gonna save myself
Oh, I'm gonna save myself
Oh, I'm gonna save myself
Oh
[Verse 5]
I'm running down the corridor
Of the seventh floor of the Grace Hospital
Me and my family
Come on everybody!
We're heading down the runway
We're gonna kick this thing
Come on Mrs. Bergman
There'll be, there'll be so much mail!
I'm taking off of the runway
I'm moving out into the rain
Out into the rain
Out into the sweet goddamn, sweet goddamn rain
[Outro]
Thank you.