Diplomat’s Son

Music by Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson and Chris Baio / Lyrics by Ezra Koenig and Rostam Batmanglij / Produced by Rostam Batmanglij

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  • Diplomat’s Son
  • Diplomat’s/Jessica
  • Lyrics

    It’s not right but it’s now or never

    And if I wait could I ever forgive myself?

    On a night when the moon glows yellow in the riptide

    With the light from the TV’s buzzing in the house

    Cuz I’m gonna cut it where I can

    And then I’m gonna duck out behind them

    If I ever had a chance it’s now then

    But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you

    To offer it to you would be cruel

    When all I want to do is use, use you

    He was a diplomat’s son

    It was ’81

    Dressed in white with my car keys hidden in the kitchen

    I could sleep wherever I lay my head

    And the sight of your two shoes sitting in the bathtub

    Let me know that I shouldn’t give up just yet

    Cuz I’m gonna take it from Simon

    And then I’m gonna duck out behind them

    If I ever had a chance it’s now then

    But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you

    To offer it to you would be cruel

    When all I want to do is use, use you

    He was a diplomat’s son

    It was ’81

            I know, you’ll say

            I’m not doing it right

            But this is how I want it

            I can’t go back

            To how I felt before

            There’s—

    That night I smoked a joint

    With my best friend

    We found ourselves in bed

    When I woke up

    He was gone

    He was the diplomat’s son

    It was ’81

    Looking out at the ice-cold water all around me

    I can’t feel any traces of that other place

    In the dark when the wind comes racing off the river

    There’s a car all black with diplomatic plates