He was feeling invulnerable
That was foolish but wonderful
But of course the first one was always free
He's got one wrist in heaven, one ankle in hell

Somebody pushed or he just fell
He's riding the subway watching the lights play
red yellow green he's always somewhere in between
the station he wants, the station he needs,
and the station where the chickenhawks come to feed

Refrain:
Since the worm turned he's learned
This apple's a blood-filled tear
And he falls down laughing, he falls down laughing
He falls down and he disappears

First he tried to be pure now he just wants a cure
He's wasted, his skin's sore, he's flat-out poor
When you live in doubt that's when your luck runs out
He's on the roof alone, outside the zone
Now he's on the street again when he calls him then
Billy just cannot resist
Now he's an orphan sleeping with the coffins
Just like Oliver Twist

Well since the worm turned . . .

Billy's tired of the lies, he's turning every fire
Looking for his own past
He's limping in the water searching for the quarter
Inch of clarity
His future is raining blood like stars
He's fallen so far behind
He might as well be blind

Watching late-night film noir inside of stolen cars
His tongue stuck frozen to the monkey bars
His ladder lost its rungs, Billy speaks in tongues
Every time he's in the clear his past looks back and sneers

But since the worm turned . . .