You’ve only got 5 minutes
Said the white-coated orderly in the vestibule
Don’t take it too badly
It’s just nursing house rules
If the old man gets to coughing
Hit that switch upon the wall
I guess I’ve got to tell you
He might not recognise you at all

Brought flowers for the room
Showed him framed prints of his ex-wife
But he just looked right through them
With a faraway look in his eyes
The nurse come in apologising
Hooked his arm up to a line
We left there all well aware
That goodbye really meant goodbye this time.

He used to walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
Must have felt so alive when the wind blew, just riding his luck
They always told him son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine
When you’re so close to heaven
Might as well look up

I reached for a cigarette
In the distance sunlight glittered on the tide
Realised my lighter
Was on the table by the bedside
I crept through the door
That’s when he opened up his eyes
Said I guess I’m ready
I guess they’re fixing me to die

Showed me a photograph
Dated 1931
A group of guys in monochrome
A half-built Empire State with them sat on
Said half a mile above the street
It’s like you’ve left the earth behind somehow
It’s like I’ve met the angels
Saint Peter ain’t got nothing on me now

In dreams I walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
Feel so alive when the wind blows, just riding my luck
They always told me son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine
When you’re so close to heaven
Might as well look up

Told me kid forget the signs
Gimme a drag on that cigarette
Dream myself as Icarus
With Lazarus - I ain’t got no truck
You’d tumble just like Lucifer
Back then there were no safety nets
And if you looked down
I swear you’d see the devil looking up

When he spoke his breath got quicker
And a shine come to his eye
Feel like I’m halfway on the ladder now
I’ll climb the scaffold one more time
Guess it won’t be long
They’re lining up outside the door
Ain’t nothing to be scared of
I’ve been higher up than this before

Tomorrow I’ll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
I’ll feel so alive when the wind blows, just riding my luck
They always told me son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine
When you’re so close to heaven
Might as well look up

Tomorrow I’ll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
I’ll feel so alive when the wind blows, just riding my luck
They always told me son - if you don’t look down then you will be just fine
When you’re so close to heaven
Might as well look up