Shaky Davey's got a twelve gauge in his hand
It's sawed off to the limit
He's got a vague plan
There's this liquor store on Madison
There's another one down on Washington square
He's pretty sure no one's ever seen him
Down around there

The first one's bird shot the next four are double aught buck
The last one's a slug just for good luck
He's got his works in his pocket
He wants to score as soon as he's done
He can't wait to get straight to get long gone

He puts on his long coat scribbles off a short note
Sits himself down and waits for the sun to go down

It's right around midnight and there's still too damn many people on this street
He's walked all the way from Battery Park he's got sweaty hands and burnin' feet
He's desperate for a fix
His body's screamin' "Get me high"
He bursts through the door and lets one fly

Sunrise in the park and Davey's cold as stone
He got some bad merchandise and he was all alone
Two more unsolved mysteries a iot of paper pushed around
Most folks are just wakin' up in this great big town


Lyrics submitted by Fordy_Styles

Manhattan Lyrics as written by Bob Seger

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Manhattan song meanings
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    I've always felt this song was about Kurt Cobain's death. It's clearly about a heroin overdose, with reference to a sawed of shotgun and bad merchandise, but a few other details make me feel it it's more specifically about Cobain's suicide.

    Cobain started playing around with a shotgun before his death and the signs of how much trouble he was in were all over his persona and his music, making him Shakey Davey. Though both Manhattan and Seattle are on opposite shores, both are super famous for their skylines.

    "The first one's bird shot the next four are double aught buck The last one's a slug just for good luck"

    This feels like a reference to how overkill Cobain went to ensure his suicide was no accident, both using so much dope and basking himself in the face with a shotgun.

    Honestly, it's hard to read these lyrics and not think of Cobain. The most telling but of evidence was that the album It's A Mystery, on wish Manhattan was released came out in October 1995, one and a half years after Cobain's death.

    This trend was very common in Rock Music. It's similar to Bad Company's Shooting Star with a character named Johnny, clearly based on Jimmi Hendrix

    DCDiamondbackon July 10, 2023   Link

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