Once there was a time
When this town was so high
We could never come down
When rules did not apply
We would drink fountains dry
In a club filled with sound

And bands that play to please me
You found a partner easy
The name game was the only game in town

And nights would end at 6 A.M.
Sleep all day
And then start dancing again
The first to see the end
We did the Continental American

All our clothes from France
Negroes taught us to dance
We had smoke in our eyes

Friends were lost and found
We were Paradise bound
Some got lost and they died
But others took their places
Always strange new faces
Always one more chance to go around

Nights would end at 6 A.M.
Sleep all day
And then start dancing again
The first to see the end
We did the Continental American

Now we're staying in
Let the new dance begin
But those kids seem so young
All dressed up in our clothes
But what none of them knows
Is we really had fun

When bands would play to please me
You found a partner easy
Scott and Zelda should have seen us then
When

Nights would end at 6 A.M.
Sleep all day
And then start dancing again
The first to see the end
Manhattan pioneers

Nights would end at 6 A.M.
Sleep all day
And then start dancing again
We were much younger then
Manhattan pioneers

When nights would end at 6 A.M.
Sleep all day
And then start dancing again
The first to see the end
We did the Continental American