High rises down to to the inner city slums

Alley cats hustle with street math

And 11 year old kids selling drugs

Gamblers roll the dice

Hoping to strike it rich

Instead they lose their small fortunes

Or wind up buried in a ditch



Never get too many chances

To marry and grow old

They end up in the streets

Forgotten, thinking rotten

And usually very cold

Oh, how daring Mr. Risk-taker

Challenging fate strikes you pretty bold



(Chorus)

And the brightest ones turn to crime

Surounded by cheap sensations and the next big hit

But I guess that's just the irony of being next in line

Because the brightest flames burn oh so quick



Even an hourglass couldn't accurately predict

How long the clock will tock and tick

Times run out, and they find you blue in the gutter

Holding out your hands asking for some bread and butter

I never meant to find the darkness

Cause the darkness just found me

When you live a life behind the shadows

Only death will finally set you free





(Chorus)

And the brightest ones turn to crime

Surounded by cheap sensations and the next big hit

But I guess that's just the irony of being next in line

Because the brightest flames burn oh so quick