I work out on the Boardwalk
Moonlight, make a couple of bucks
Nights ‘til 9 by the SandWitch sign
when it rains I take potluck
I tell corny jokes, make music for folks
out lookin’ for a city in a dream
Of Amusement Parks, racing after dark, Scooter & the Big Man and the Circuit scene

Saturday last I was ridin' fast to get to my spot that night
Parked my bike, grabbed my stuff, found my spot, got ready, but something' just didn't feel right – I saw there were …

Black balloons on the Boardwalk, everywhere in sight /
Black balloons on the Boardwalk, that just didn’t seem right /
Black balloons on the Boardwalk, on a Saturday nite /

I stopped a waitress who was headed home from her shift at a boardwalk cafe
I Said ‘Excuse me Ma’am, now what’s this new scam?’ She said ‘it ain’t no joke, son Today we lost a Big Man.
They should drape this whole damn town in black There’s a Big Man down, and he ain’t comin’ back’


Black Balloons on the Boardwalk means a Big Man’s Down
Black Balloons on the Boardwalk, a Big Man Down

Then that waitress started crying, signifying:

I remember them, when they were young men
They got some instruments and wrote these songs
Then they got the Big Man, that made all the difference
They shook the neighborhood & rocked this town!
Boss & the Big Man never let this city down
Big Man Down. There's a Big Man Down

Every dollar that u make on the Boardwalk is a dollar that u know u earned
Slim bet, no net, windswept, rain-soaked, broke, busted, disgusted sunburned
Countin’ up the bucket, you want to say ‘fuckget it’ then a friend drops by and tips multiply

When I have a good night and I feel a little better
I think about the reason that the people come by and
I wonder if they ever saw a waitress cry ...
Or if they’re out looking for a city in the sky?
And I wonder if the Big Man is watching it go by?
And did he hear the waitress tell a passer-by that …

I remember them, when they were young men
They got some instruments and wrote these songs
Then they got the Big Man, that made all the difference
They Shook the neighborhood & rocked this town!
They Shook the neighborhood & rocked this town!
Big Man Down. There's a Big Man Dow-oo-ow-oo-ow-own There's a Big Man down There's a Big Man down
Having a party / everybody singin, 'bout the BMD …