Song of the Day 28 : Billboard On the Moon by Dirk Hamilton

I have loved this song since I first heard it in 1978 in my first year at Uni. A simple song that is as self explanatory as it is allegorical.  Dirk's still writing great songs but this is still one of his best.

BILLBOARD ON THE MOON

Steel pipes sing for the rainbirds' dance

and nobody's there but me

To stand alone by the grey pay phone

and hear the symphony

Diamond drops shoot through the air

with each whirring pass

and leap for the lawn that'll soon be gone

Replaced by glued-in grass

Take a walk real late at night

When everybody is asleep

Can you see how sad it is?

Can you see how bad it is?

Signs look silly when nobody reads 'em

Traffic lights change and nobody's

there to see 'em

Put a billboard on the moon

I'll be there soon

Streetlights line the streets and shine

A purple eerie noon

for the criminals and the cops

who always gotta stop

and ask ya 'bout what you're doin'

Ya float somewhere above your hat

Tied like a balloon

Ya see your reflection

and ya just gotta laugh

Ya know that isn't you

Take a walk real late at night

When everybody is asleep

Can you see how sad it is?

Can you see how bad it is?

Signs look silly when nobody reads 'em

Traffic lights change and nobody's

there to see 'em

Put a billboard on the moon

I'll be there soon

I know a painter who paints in blood

In an empty room

He'll soon be dead from the colors

that he's bled

To paint a billboard for the moon

Take a walk real late at night

When everybody is asleep

Can you see how sad it is?

Can you see how bad it is?

Signs look silly when nobody reads 'em

Traffic lights change and nobody's

there to see 'em

Put a billboard on the moon

I'll be there soon