[Kurt Elling] Nighttown, lady bright in the arms of night Heading homeward High overhey-oh Size Nightown, lady bright in the arms of night Heading homeward High overhey-oh Size [Instrumental Section] Night life Night life is cut out of a very luxurious royal blue bolt of velvet It sparkles with j**els And it sparkles in tingling and tinkling tones Some of its sparkles are more precious than precious stones Others are just splashes of costume j**elry Night Life seems to have been born with all of its people in it The people who had never been babies But were born grown Completely independent Some of them were wonderful people And some were just hangers on of the sort Some of them experienced untold misfortunes
And some were very lucky Some folks glittered in night life even more brightly than their own names on the marquees Some played sure things Others were inclined to gamble There were a few hustlers who depended on finding s**ers for survival And there were some who were to wise to hustle Who only wanted to have enough money to be able to afford to be a s**er Night life had a song and a dance Night life was New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Uptown, Downtown. Harlem. Out south. Anywhere they wore that gorgeous velvet mantle. Duke Ellington Nighttown, lady bright in the arms of night Heading homeward High overhey-oh Size Size Nighttown Amen