Bowler hats and spotless spats,

teamed with neatly tied cravats;

shouldered suits with wide lapels,

mobsters dressing up as swells.

 

Gangster movies, black and white,

sound of gunshots in the night.

Double-crossing, double-deal,

engines racing, tyres that squeal.

 

Night-club singers, cabarets,

dancing girls in chic berets;

bent casinos, Mr Big,

cards are marked and wheels are rigged.

 

Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant,

Jimmy Cagney on a rant.

Never said “You dirty rat”,

don’t know who invented that

 

Dodging coppers, on the lam,

Tommy guns go blam blam blam.

On one thing you can depend,

baddies get it in the end.