McKinley hollered McKinley s qualled
Doctor said "McKinley death is on the wall
Say it to me if you got something to confess
I heard all about i t he was going down s low
I heard it on the wireless ra dio
From down in the boon docks way down in Key West
I'm searching for love for inspiration
On that pirate radio sta tion
Coming out of Luxem bourg and Budapest
Radio signal's clear as can be
I'm so deep in love that I can hardly see
Down on the flat lands way down in Key West
Key West is the place to be
If you're looking for immor tality
Stay on the road follow the highway sign
Key West is fine and fair
If you lost your mind you will find it there
Key West is on the horizon line
I was born on the wrong side of the rail road track
Like Ginsberg Corso and Kerouac
Like Louis and Jim my and Buddy and all the rest
Well it might not be the thing to do
But I'm sticking with you through and through
Down in the flat lands way down in Key West
I got both of my feet planted square on the ground
Got my right hand high with the thumb down
Such is life such is happi ness
Hibiscus flowers they grow everywhere here
If you wear one put it behind your ear
Down in the bottom way down in Key West
Key West is the place to go
Down by the Gulf of Mexi co
Beyond the city beyond the sifting sands
Key West is the gateway key
to innocence and puri ty
Key West Key West is the enchanted land
I've never lived in the la nd of Oz
Or wasted my time with an unworthy cause
It's hot down here and you can't be ove rdressed
China blossoms of a to xic plant
They can make you dizzy I'd like to help you but I can't
Down in the flat lands way down in Key West
Well the fish tail ponds and the orchid trees
They can give you that bleeding heart disease
People tell me I ought to try a little te nderness
On Newton Street Bay view Park
Walking in the shadow after dark
Down un der way down in Key West
I played Gumbo Limbo spirituals
I know all the Hindu rituals
People tell me that I'm truly blessed
B ougainvillea blooming in the s ummer in the spring
W inter here is an unknown thing
Down in the flat l ands way down in Key W est
K ey West is under the sun u nder the radar u nder the gun
You s tay to the left and then you lean to the right
Feel the sunlight on your skin t he healing virtues of the w ind
Key West Key West is the land o f light
Wherever I travel where ver I roam
I'm n ot that far before I c ome back home
I do what I t hink is right what I t hink is best
H istory street off off M allory Square
Truman had his White House t here
East bound west bound way down i n Key West
Twelve years old they p ut me in a suit
Forced me to marry a prostitute
There were g old fringes on her wedding d ress
T hat's my story but not w here it ends
She's s till cute and we're still f riends
D own on the bottom way down in Key West
I play both sides against t he middle
T ryin' to pick up that pirate radio signal
I heard the news I heard y our last request
Fly around my pretty little Miss
I don't love n obody give me a kiss
Down on the bott om way down in Key West
Key West is the place to be
If y ou're looking for immort ality
K ey West is paradise div ine
Key West is fine and fair
If you l ost your mind you'll f ind it there
K ey West is on the horizon l ine