This song appears on Death Cab For Cuties “The Open Door” EP, released in 2009. “Little Bribes” is about the strange reality of casinos in contrast with the outside world.
The Eiffel tower built to smaller scale
The freshest oxygen I'd ever inhale
I tapped a bottle against a safety rail, killing time
And you were like a walking compliment
Tall in stature and exceptionally read
In dummy glasses and a cardigan, oh, come on
And oh-so-empty were the faces
Of the dealers and the waitresses around
You said that all these things you've learned to ignore
The hidden cameras on the casino floor
And what gets paid for behind hotel doors, oh, come on
You pretend every slot machine
Is a robot amputee waving hello
The people stare into their eyes
And they feed them little bribes and then they go
The never-ending twilight
In a basement where the sun has never spilt
You said that you were lonely
And then we kissed like lonely people do
You said the city has a beating heart
That pushes people down the boulevard
And they're all hoping for a wish fulfilled
In a desert for a dollar bill
Those foolish dreams, you know they plague me still, oh, come on
And oh-so-empty were the faces
Of the dealers and the waitresses around
And oh-so-empty were the faces
Of the dealers and the waitresses around
They're empty
Little Bribes was written by Benjamin Gibbard.
Little Bribes was produced by Chris Walla.
Death Cab for Cutie released Little Bribes on Tue Mar 31 2009.