Adelphi Apartments

Rosie lived in the Adelphi Apartments
Down by Carrigafoyle
At night she read Cannery Row
Before saying goodnight
To the highway below

And all the tomcats knew her
Over on the Allenby Steps
Sundays, she'd burn a candle
For all the tears she hadn't wept
And all the ends she hadn't met

Electric thick around her
She'd put a record on
Of something warm like Olga Guillot
Swaying her hips to a far-off drum

Where she lived in the Adelphi Apartments
Down by Carrigafoyle
At night, she read Cannery Row
Before saying goodnight
To the highway below

And Maurice next door
Coughing up the things he tried to say
Didn't want to seem like a creep
He always dreaded the day
He'd put his ear to the wall
To hear the fall of silence
Rosie'd gone, moved on away

From where she lived
In the Adelphi Apartments
Down by Carrigafoyle
Where at night she read Cannery Row
Before saying goodnight
To the highway below