There was a lot of rockn' going on that night Cruising time for the young bright lights Just down past the gasworks, by the meat factory door The five lamp boys were coming on strong The Saturday night city beat had already started and The pulse of the corner boys sprang into action And young Billy watched it all under the yellow street light And said "tonight, of all nights, there's gonna be a fight"
Billy don't like it living here in this town He says the traps have been sprung long before he was born He says "hope bites the dust behind all the closed doors And puss and grime ooze from its scab crusted sores There's screaming and crying in the high rise blocks" It's a rat trap, Billy, but you're already caught But you can make it if you wanna or you need it bad enough You're young and good looking and you're acting kind of tough Anyway, it's Saturday night, time to see what's going down Put on the bright suit, Billy, head for the right side of town It's only 8 o'clock, but you're already bored You don't know what it is, but there's got to be more You'd better find a way out, hey, kick down the door It's a rat trap and you've been caught
In this town, Billy says, "everybody's tryin' to tell you what to do" In this town, Billy says, "everybody says you gotta follow rules" You walk up to the traffic lights, Switch from your left to right You push in that button, and that button comes alight It tells you "Walk, don't walk Talk, don't talk"
Hey Billy take a walk...with me Do you want that misery Sweethearts run free
Little Judy's trying to watch "Top of the Pops" But mum and dad are fighting don't they ever stop She takes off her coat and walks out to the street It's cold on that road, but it's got that home beat Deep down in her pockets she finds 50p Hey, is that any way for a young girl to be "I'm gonna get out of school, work in a silk factory Work all the hours God gave me, get myself a little easy money now, now, now"
Her mind's made up, she walks down the road Her hands in her pockets, coat buttoned 'gainst the cold She finally finds Billy down at the Italian cafe And when he's drunk it's hard to understand what Billy says But then he mumbles in his coffee and suddenly roars "It's a rat trap Judy, and we've been caught"