Description
Jim Steinman offers this description of the Batman opening sequence, consisting of this song and "Angels Arise": "It starts with 'Vespers' coming from the Gotham Cathedral, then into 'The Song of Gotham City' which includes, for the first time, the 'Angels Arise' melody (later 'Appropriated & annexed & snatched' for Vampires, where it was wasted. We see the Gothamites fearing the onset of night, pulling those metal sliding 'doors/barriers' down and filling with oncoming terror as a storm approaches. The soprano is a Salvation Army woman on the street in front of the cathedral. Then: 'we rise up' to see the entire panoramic vista of all of Gotham City. And from the darkness, amidst gargoyles and turrets and spires (oh my!), suddenly we see a gargoyle come alive -- its Batman, watching all before & below him. He sings 'The Graveyard Shift', on the Gothic rooftops, a human, watchful, vengeful dark presence. Then he's gone! During his aria, a parade of characters pass by: Selena Kyle/Catwoman, The Joker, various city dwellers and 'villains' we'll meet later on..."[1]
Versions
Jim Steinman on a Batman demo recording
Similar Songs
This song shares musical and lyrical elements with "Bad for Good."
Lyrics
Hear the screams of the mad and desperate
Hear the cries of the lost and lonely
There are things that happen only in the dark
That's the sound of an old dream dying
And that's the birth of an original sin
There are things that happen only in the dark
And I see it all
I see it
All the devils are rising
As all of the angels are starting to fall
Maybe it's a curse
Maybe it's a gift
But I see it all
I work the graveyard shift
I work the graveyard shift
I work the graveyard shift
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
Safe home, safe...
Only in the dark all the criminals gather
Always searching for the ultimate crime
Chaos and corruption and annihilation
Infinite victims, infinitesimal time
And it's time to unleash the furies
Stop it now and draw a line in the sand
This is where all the evil festers
Only in the dark I will make my stand
And I see it all
I see it
All the devils are rising
As all of the angels are starting to fall
Maybe it's a curse
Maybe it's a gift
But I see it all
I work the graveyard shift
I work the graveyard shift
I work the graveyard shift
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
Safe home, safe home
God speed
God speed
God speed, speed us away
The nightmares never end
I never sleep, I never wake
And after all these years I dedicate myself
To the memories of the innocent destroyed by crime
And to my parents who I buried
When I was only eight
To all the ghosts long departed
To all the ghosts who still wait
I swear, I vow
Right here, right now
All of the angels are falling
As all of the devils are starting to rise
Now the time has come
Now it's time to stop
Is there anybody here who does not hear these cries?!
I work the graveyard shift