Raindrops shine like diamonds on my window Moonlight spills like silver 'cross the floor Ships pass in the night and where do they go? Oh, I don't even wonder anymore Maybe they'll sail all the way to China Carry all my blues away But I can't watch 'cause all I'll find there Are the lights of San Francisco 'cross the bay Days crawl by like death here in this prison Late at night, the clock don't move at all On this island, ain't nobody livin' We're only markin' time behind these walls There, across the water, lamps are burnin' Dreams and born and pass away In the darkness, I am yearnin' For the lights of San Francisco 'cross the bay The sun is gonna rise again tomorrow The boats will cross again from shore to shore Silence shattered by the tales of horror And the footsteps of the curious once more And a guide will tell 'em this place was a prison That closed down long ago, but he won't say That the ghosts of Alcatraz envy the livin' And the lights of San Francisco 'cross the bay