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LOWLIFE
(Words inspired by text from the books "Low Life" (1991) by Luc Santé and "The Gangs of New York" (1927) by Herbert Asbury)

Let me tell you 'bout a time, a century ago
When the Empire State was not yet king
Manhattan was a town, with debauchery abound
There was little else to do but drink
Yeah they came by the droves through Ellis Island terminal
With a dream of plucking dollars from the trees
Then they'd find some tenement and a way to pay the rent
For some tiny shithole near the Bowery
Piker Ryan he was born in a dirty part of town
In a place that one day would be called SoHo
But that was back in the day before modern real estate
When this shantytown was 'Hellís Hundred Acres'
Well Piker soon grew to an age where he could try to earn a wage
But instead he joined a local gang of hoods
As the Whyos they were known, and their numbers they did grow
'Til they ran their world of crime with attitude

Piker Ryan was destined for fame
He knew that he'd make the headlines someday
So he kept up with his work - he was just another jerk
He was just another lowlife

Punching - two dollars
Both eyes blacked - four dollars
Nose and jaw broke - ten dollars
Jacked out or ear chawed off - fifteen dollars
Leg or arm broke - nineteen bucks
Shot in leg or stabbed - twenty-five bucks
Doing the big job - one-hundred bucks and up

Piker Ryan would soon find fame
Yeah he'd even make the headlines of the day
The cops they caught him with some priceless evidence
A list to sell his fists for hire - he was just a lowlife

Piker Ryan yeah he found fame
He even made the headlines of the day
The cops they caught him with a take-out menu
A list to sell his fists for hire - he was just a lowlife

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from Lowlife (EP), released June 1, 1998

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Mark Steiner & His Problems image

Mark Steiner & His Problems Oslo, Norway

Mark Steiner is a well-known figure in Oslo’s music underworld, and he’s been around in Norway for so long that many assume that he is Norwegian. He is not. This ex-New Yorker is a wandering scoundrel who one might find hanging out in the shadowy corners of a pub at closing time. A international musical vagrant who might walk the streets with Stuart Staples, Nick Cave, and Rowland S. Howard... ... more

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