Manhattan Lyrics
People come and people go
All the friends that we used to know
Ain't coming back
Ain't coming back
Ain't coming back
You say your heart has a rhythm
Well I see you got your secret on
You say-ay and nothing to hide
You and your secret life
Don't look at the moon tonight
You'll never be never be never be Manhattan
Don't look at the moon tonight
You can never be never be never be never be Manhattan
Little one, with your badge
And your suitcase on
No suit and your hair's not right
Cause nobody knows this woman by your side
It's not who you know, it's the useful woman by your side
It's not who you know, it's a useful woman by your side
Manhattan
Well I see you got your secret on
You say-ay and nothing to hide
You and your secret life
Don't look at the moon tonight
You'll never be never be never be Manhattan
Don't look at the moon tonight
You can never be never be never be never be Manhattan
See your heart has a rhythm
You got your secret on
Say you got nothing to hide
You, you, you and your secret life
You'll never be never be never be Manhattan
Howling at me howling at you
Howling at me howling at you
Liberty in the basement light
Free speech, lipstick in the moonlight
Howling to get me, howlin’ to get you
In Harlem, in a dark back room
Dancing to a different tune
Howling at me, howling at you
About
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
The song is about some people who dug in the garbage many years ago and found clothes in decent conditions; about girls who dived into the trash to re-emerge with a pair of perfectly usable shoes and are now avant-garde stylists. “Manhattan” is about that attitude, when I worked in a bar where the beer went to a dollar and I was surrounded by people who wanted to become writers, directors, photographers, while I served at the tables and composed songs. New York was superactive, everyone had to work to eat, many became heroin addicts, some died. They were all people escaped from shitty places, from places with a shit mentality. I always felt like an alien until I came to a city where everyone was. Manhattan’s constant procedure, its perfect sequence, the perseverance of staying afloat. It was unreal, I know: serving the tables until two, with everyone going under and the money running out. We all rushed there because history had taught us that it was the only place to go. In the text I refer to a she: she is the Statue of Liberty. Who has corroded eyes, because freedom is blind.
– Cat Power, Il Mucchio Selvaggio
- 1.Cherokee
- 2.Sun
- 3.Ruin
- 4.3,6,9
- 6.Real Life
- 7.Human Being
- 8.Manhattan
- 10.Nothin’ But Time
- 11.Peace and Love
- 12.Fire
- 13.Back in the Days
- 14.King Rides By
- 15.Bully