Patti Smith
Lyric guide

Citizen Ship

Read Citizen Ship lyrics by Patti Smith on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Patti Smith Canonical path: /patti-smith/citizen-ship Related lyric paths: 6 Video embedded: yes
Lyrics

Citizen Ship

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I was nothing. It didn't matter to me

Ah, there were tags all over my sleeve

There was water outside the windows

And children in the streets [ ] rats with tags

Ain't got a passport

Ain't got my real name

Ain't got a chance, sport, at fortune and fame

And I walk these endless streets, won't you give me a lift

A lift, a lift on your citizen ship

They were rioting in Chicago, movement in L.A

Sixty-eight it broke up the yardbirds

We were broke as well

Took it underground, M.C. borderline, up against the wall

The wall. The wall

Show your papers, boy

Citizen ship we got mem'ries

Stateless, they got shame

Cast adrift from the citizen ship

Lifeline denied, exiled this castaway

Blind alley in New York City, in a foreign embrace

If you're hungry you're not too particular about what you'll taste

Men in uniform gave me vinegar, spoon of misery

But what the hell, I fell, I fell

It doesn't matter to me

Citizen ship, we got mem'ries

Citizen ship, we got pain

Cast adrift from the citizen ship

Lifeline denied, exiled this castaway

I was caught like a moth with its wings outta sync

Cut the chord, overboard, just a refugee

Lady liberty, lend a hand to me, I've been cast adrift

Adrift, adrift, adrift, adrift, adrift, adrift

On the citizen ship we got mem'ries

Citizen ship, we got pain

Lose your grip on the citizen ship

You're cast, you're cast away

On the citizen ship you got mem'ry

Citizen ship you got pain

Citizen ship you got identity

A name. A name. A name

What's your name, son?

What's your name?

What's your name?

[?]

Nothing, I got nothing

[?] Jersey

Give me your tired, your poor

Give me your huddled masses

Your wartorn places

Give me your wartorn and your [?]

Lift up your [?] unto me

Ah, mythology

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Who performs "Citizen Ship"?

Patti Smith performs "Citizen Ship", and this lyric page sits inside the Patti Smith catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Citizen Ship"?

Yes. The related section below points to Looking For You (I Was) and After The Gold Rush with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Patti Smith?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Patti Smith's lyric pages.

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