$29.00 Lyrics & Chords By Tom Waits

Little black girl, red dress
Hot night with a broken shoe
Little black girl, you shoulda never left home
There's probably someone still waitin' up for you
It's cold back in Chicago
Los Angeles, it's worse when all you got is
$29.00 and an alligator purse
I see that vulture in the Fleetwood
Chartreuse hood trying to get your bearings
Say “Hey baby, which way’s the main stem?”
Where ever you say you're from
He'll say he grew up there himself
He gonna come on and make you feel
Like you grew up right next door to him
Take left on Central
Gon’ throws it in reverse
All you got is $29.00 and an alligator purse
Come on like a gentleman
Oh babe, you gonna be a little shy
Say your ex old man was a sax player
He says, "Baby, I used to play bass for Sly"
Say you like his Cadillac
Says, “Honey, I got 2 or 3”
Sweetheart, you're sure fortunate
That you ran into me
You've done a dime in the joint
You figure nothin' could be worse
$29.00 and an alligator purse
Pharaoh on the 8 track
You start smokin' little boo
Thinkin' gettin' out of Chicago is just about
The best thing that’s ever happened to you
He's starting like a [Incomprehensible]
This cat seems to be cool
He says, “Baby, I know a good ol' deal
Out in West Hollywood, he's just right for you”
He ain't no good Samaritan
He gon’ make sure he's reimbursed
Lot more than $29.00 and an alligator purse
Now when the streets get hungry, baby
You almost hear them growl
Someone's setting a place for you
When the dogs begin to howl
Well, the streets are dead
They creep up and down when it was left on the pole
Remember suckers always make mistakes
When they're far away from home
Chicken in a pot
Whoever gets there first
Gonna get himself $29.00
And an alligator purse
Now the sirens just an epilogue
The cops here always get there too late
Always stop for coffee
On the way to the scene of the crime
They always try so hard
Just like movie stars
But they couldn't catch a cold
Baby, don't waste your dime
Lucky to be alive
The doctor whispered to the nurse
“She only lost a half pint of blood
$29.00 and an alligator purse”