Original lyrics

I'm just a-sittin' in the balcony
Just a watchin' the movie
Or maybe it's a symphony, I wanna know

I don't care about the symphonies
Just the cymbals the timpanis
Just a-sittin' in the balcony on the very last row

I'll hold your hand I'll kiss you too
The feature's over, but we're not through

Just a-sittin' the balcony
Holdin' hands in the balcony

Well, I know a guy who's bone skin
Women, they've been ravin' 'bout skinny Jim
Skinny Jim, man, skinny Jim
Yes yes yes, all the gals love him, skinny Jim

Well, I went to a party skinny Jim
(2nd line imperceptible)
Skinny Jim, man, skinny Jim
Yes yes yes, all the gals love him, skinny Jim

Well, Jim got charm, he got class
All the women love him oh yeah yeah yeah
Skinny Jim, man, skinny Jim

I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler
About a workin' all summer just to try to earn a dollar
Every time I call my baby, and ask to get a date
My boss says, No dice son, you gotta work late
Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do
But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

Well my mom and pop told me, Son you gotta make some money

[E]Well c'mon everybody and let's get together tonight
[E]I got some money in my jeans and I'm really gonna spend it right
Been a-[A]doin' my homework [B]all week long
now the [A]house is empty the [B]folks are gone
[N.C.]Ooo C'mon everybody [E] [A] [B] [A] [E]

Well my baby's number one but I'm gonna dance with three or four

Now there are Three Steps To Heaven
Just listen and you will plainly see
And as life travels on
And things do go wrong
Just follow steps one, two and three

Step one - you find a girl to love
Step two - she falls in love with you
Step three - you kiss and hold her tightly
Yeah! that sure seems like heaven to me

The formula for Heaven's very simple
Just follow the rules and you will see

Oh well, I've got a girl with a record machine
When it comes to rockin' she's the queen
We love to dance on a Saturday night
All alone, I can hold her tight
But she lives in a twentiest floor up town
The elevator's broken down

So I walked one, two flight, three flight, four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
Up on the twelfth I started to drag
Fifteenth floor I'm ready to sag

(La la la la la la la la) (female backing throughout song)

Friday night, everything's right for the weekend
Crazy clothes, anything goes on a weekend
John called Ann Jim got Sue
I made a date with little ol' you
Off we went to make a big tent on the weekend

Boy, it's great just a-stayin' out late on a weekend
Know a spot like it a lot on a weekend
Took a road to Lookout Hill

Well, listen, pretty baby; let's go out tonight
Tell your mama not to worry; everything's gonna be all right
Don't let me hear you talkin'; just be there when I call
'Cause what I do I do my way, or it won't be done at all
Oh little girl, better hear what I say
I'm an easy-goin' guy, but I always gotta have my way

I was born a tiger; I always had my way

CHORUS:
I'm a-havin' a nervous breakdown
A mental shakedown
See my hands, how they shiver
See my knees, how they quiver
My whole body's in a jitter
I'm a-havin' a nervous breakdown

Well, I went to see my doctor just the other day
I've got to tell you what the man had to say
Well, he said, Hey, boy, you just gotta slow down
You can't keep a-traipsin' all over town