I'm alright Jack , honest .
There's nothing wrong with me .
I've just got withdrawal starting .
I'll shake it off , you'll see .

Let's get down town , fast man .
See if I can hustle bread .
I've got the turkey shivers .
My eyes are popping out my head .

How about a loan of a fiver ?
I can pay you back tonight .
Once I get a bit of stuff .
I'll be feeling fine , alright ?

Today , I'm Billy Liar .
And I've got a story from Hell .
Yesterday , I was Marlon Brando .
But then I was feeling well .

Now I'm the Artful Dodger .
With an eye for easy pickings .
Theiving to support a habit .
That mocks the agony of existing .

Yes , I'm a poor little junkie boy .
Cooking gear in dirty spoons .
Sticking needles in my wasted body .
Nodding off in seedy rooms .

Sometimes I feel I'm going .
Right out over the top .
Falling down a bottomless pit .
No control and unable to stop .

Other times I feel that this is it .
I've mainlined a bit too much .
But I seem to manage through it .
And just put survival down to luck .

I started chasing dragons .
But they flared up at me .
I didn't get the same old kick .
Wasn't feeling quite so numb and free .

So I went to see my dealer .
Told him of my trouble .
He fixed me up with a set of works .
And man , the joy was doubled .

Black poppies nodding in the evening breeze .
In far off Pakistan .
Each one represents a wasted life .
In many different lands .

Black poppies stand like reapers .
In Bangladesh and Afghanistan .
Black poppies and damnation .
In Persia and Siam .

Black poppies and their harvesters .
The harbingers of death .
Counting money , money , money .
On midnights whispering breath .

How many people are trapped like me ?
On the nightmare streets of reality .
Controlled by something they don't understand .
Condemned to live like one of the damned .