"Wristband (Live)" lyrics - PAUL SIMON

[Live from A Prairie Home Companion]

I stepped outside the backstage door
To breathe some nicotine
And maybe check my mailbox
See if I can read the screen
Then I heard a click
The stage door lock
I knew just what that meant
I'm gonna have to walk around the block
If I want to get in a...

Wristband, my man
You got to have a wristband
If you don't have a wristband, my man
You don't get through the door

Wristband, my man
You got to have a wristband
And if you don't have a wristband
You don't get through the door

I can't explain it
I don't know why my heart beats like a fist
When I meet some dude with an attitude
Saying, Hey, you can't do that...or this
And the man was large
A well-dressed 6-foot-8
And he's acting like St. Peter
Standing guard at the Pearly

Wristband, my man
You've got to have a wristband
If you don't have a wristband
You don't get through the door

And I said, Wristband?
I don't need a wristband
My axe is on the bandstand
My band is on the floor

The riots started slowly
With the homeless and the lowly
Then they spread into the heartland
Towns that never get a wristband
Kids that can't afford the cool brand
Whose anger is a shorthand
For you'll never get a wristband
And if you don't have a wristband
Then you can't get through the door
No, you can't get through the door
No, you can't get through the door