JANEY NEEDS A SHOOTER

1972 piano demo

Well Janey's got a doctor who tears apart her insides
He investigates her and silently bates her every little sigh
Oh, he probes with his fingers but he knows her heart only through a stethoscope
Oh, his hands are so old and his instruments so cold
Janey turns him down like dope

And Janey's got a proctor from his marble pulpit he smiles
He provides consolation and an open invitation to confession at any time
Between the pages of his bible he holds from what Janey he hides
With her doors open wide she begs "Come inside"
He's too long been content to mess around with the handles on the outside

And Janey needs a shooter
A shooter like this boy on her side
Janey needs a shooter
Someone who knows her style
And I know her style

Well Janey loved a mechanic who owned a gas station down on Route 9
Well she took him to bed and I beat my head on his gas tanks and bled all over his tires
And then he smashed my car with big tow bar. I got out and asked him why
He said, " 'Cuz with her it's either you or me, and it's gonna be me"
And I watched Janey silently stand by

Then she flopped with a cop who lived 'round the block
He'd come peak in my window every night
Janey's skin would turn pale as the siren he'd wail outside my house all night long
When he knew she was inside
She said his big gun was fun but Janey's small, and sometimes he scared her
So I held her real close, she was more a saint than a ghost
And told her I so long had been prepared for her

And Janey needs a shooter
A shooter just like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter
Somebody who won't let her slide
And I can't let her slide

Woah, stay in here tonight, baby, and I won't let you slide.
I'm stayin' here tonight, woah, Janey, and I won't let you slide.
I'm stayin' here tonight. Baby I'm a-can'(t) let you slide.

This is the 1972 piano demo lyrics. Recorded later in 1978 for Darkness On The Edge Of Town in a different version. A very similar 1973 outtake also exists.

An excellent song that was re-recorded a few times for different albums, similar to how FRANKIE evolved between 1976 and 1984. Would later appear as JEANNIE NEEDS A SHOOTER, with completely different lyrics, covered by Warren Zevon.