Lyrics Peter Hammill

Peter Hammill

The American Girl

She doesn't eat, she doesn't sleep

For if she slept then she would dream about this:

A place where she'd be treated with respect and sympathy.

The American girl

Set her sights on the old world,

Thinking in the old world she'd find honesty.

And so she blew in like a breath of fresh air,

Captivating all around her;

And as she passed she left a trail of heartbreak in her wake.

The American girl

Cut her teeth on the old world,

All at once the old world hers upon a plate

And fascinated by her face

The old world sealed her fate.

She felt she'd come home across the sea,

This was where she was meant to be.

She didn't understand the potency of envy

So ingrained in the culture

And soon she found contempt had grown from her familiarity.

She doesn't eat, she doesn't sleep,

She lies awake and wonders how this happened.

The American girl

Stubbed her toe on the old world

And the old world's unforgiving rigidity.

Well times got hard

And talk came cheap;

She found that finally

Something wasn't right across the sea...

Now she's stateless in all but her memory.