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Click on the ‘Play’ button above to hear the song as you read the lyrics via the links below. If the player doesn’t start straight away, wait and then press the ‘Play’ button again.
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William S. Burroughs is from the album The Chelsea Hotel#4 by ‘Les Paul’s’ (The Paul’s) that is the 4th and last album in the series of albums about those celebrities, actors, artists, writers, poets, songwriters and musicians that have stayed at the iconic New York through the years or have a strong connection to the hotel.
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The literary spirit of the Chelsea comes alive in “Jack Kerouac”, “Allen Ginsberg”, and “William S. Burroughs”. These songs serve as the heart of the record – a poetic triptych that captures the essence of the Beat Generation.
“William S. Burroughs”, by contrast, is shadowy and disjointed – a sonic cut-up mirroring Burroughs’ experimental prose, blending jazz noir and dystopian unease in an audacious act of musical homage.
– Read the just published Jamsphere magazine review our album HERE
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download the track William S. Burroughs on Bandcamp HERE
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You can download the album The Chelsea Hotel#4 at download stores HERE and on Bandcamp HERE
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Watch the William S. Burroughs video promo on YouTube HERE
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William S. Burroughs Lyrics
Here’s a story that I will tell
About a writer man that was on the road to hell
William S. Burroughs was his name
His novel The Naked Lunch brought him controversy and fame
Travelling down that slow suicide road
Who wants to die before they get old
Passing crashed scenes along the way
It’s life and death like night and day
Fuel for his engine was easy to buy
Sometimes it overheats deep inside
With too much heat you’ll soon be gone
It’s impossible to stay on this road for too long
He couldn’t be a soldier in World War 2
Became depressed and addicted through and through
Was driven fast by the devil’s spell
On his roller coaster ride through hell
Lived above that brothel in Morocco
He became their favourite Americano
Feasting on pleasures of the body and brain
Distracting his self from the reality of pain
He then went with her down Mexico way
They both needed to get clean away
She said shoot this whiskey glass off my head
He missed and shot her stoned dead
He went on trial for her slaughter
And got just 2 years probation for manslaughter
He met Allen and Jack on the road
Soon their beat movement would explode
His house was empty and full of junk
As he spewed out his Naked Lunch
All his insides were there to see
A colourful study in debauchery
Burroughs had Warhol for dinner
His rabbit was hairy, his steak a thin sliver
Shame that the Mad Hatter couldn’t come
He said 2 halves are better than one
Said you are Swift talking out of your arse
Your words are shocking I’m gonna pass
This Naked Lunch is over, ring the bell
I’m jumping off your roller coaster ride through hell
At the Chelsea he would later reside
He never had regrets or tried to hide
His house became junk free later on
His days on that road, long gone
No matter what your thoughts are inside your head
Never speak ill of the dead
We’ll be lying soon on our own death beds
You can never take back the words that you said
We’ve all been driven by the devil’s spell
We’ve all been on that roller coaster ride through hell
At the end of the line we’d all have fell
When we will fall only time will tell
Only time will tell, only time will tell, only time will tell
Music composed and performed by Paul Odiase BMI No. 1252265 (Switzerland)
Song lyrics by Paul Robert Thomas PRS No. 497904008 (London)
PRS Tunecode 868568GT
ISRC: US5UL2560087
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“William S. Burroughs” is a raw, unflinching portrait of one of literature’s most controversial and influential figures — the Beat writer whose life blurred the lines between art, addiction, and self-destruction. The song traces Burroughs’ journey down what it calls “that slow suicide road,” a haunting metaphor for his decades-long struggle with drugs, demons, and creative fire.
Through vivid storytelling, the lyrics explore his time in Morocco and Mexico, his tragic shooting of his wife, and his subsequent transformation into a central figure of the Beat Generation, alongside Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. References to The Naked Lunch, his masterpiece of chaos and clarity, underline his fascination with the grotesque, the surreal, and the psychological depths of addiction.
The recurring image of the “roller coaster ride through hell” captures Burroughs’ tumultuous life — equal parts genius and ruin, intellect and madness. Yet the song also finds redemption in his later years, as he grows reflective, sober, and quietly philosophical. The closing verses remind listeners of mortality and empathy: “Never speak ill of the dead / We’ll be lying soon on our own death beds.”
“William S. Burroughs” stands as both cautionary tale and tribute — a dark jazz of words that mirrors Burroughs’ own literary rhythm. It’s a song about excess, guilt, survival, and the haunting truth that genius often walks hand in hand with the abyss.
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