Manhattan, Kansas

(album: The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A. - 1972)

Manhattan, Kansas ain't no place to have a baby
When you got no man to give it his last name
And my folks back in Manhattan didn't want me or my bundle
So I took my child and caught an evening train

And I found a job in Denver washing dishes in a diner
At least it buys the baby milk to drink
He once told me I was pretty but the only ring he got me
Is the ring of grease that runs around the sink

Yes, I lay beside him gentle
'Cause he told me that he loved me
And he made me dance before the music played

But at least I didn't beg him
I'd rather wash my dishes
'Cause it makes me feel as if my hands are clean

Sometimes I stand here thinking
About a man back home in Kansas
And how the folks just turned away ashamed

Now I stare down through the soapsuds
And reach down and pull the drain plug
And watch it as Manhattan floats away

Yes, I lay beside him gentle
'Cause he told me that he loved me
And he made me dance before the music played

But at least I didn't beg him
I'd rather wash my dishes
'Cause it makes me feel as if my hands are clean

Yes, it makes me feel as if my hands are clean