You think you know her but you don't

You see just what she wants you to see

I'm the only one who got through to her

Who knows quite how she used to be

 

The way she used to be was so beautiful

Kind and caring and wide open to ideas

Not the cracked empty vessel she became

A sad broken woman in thrall to her fears

 

We met in New York when life was young

It was at a druggy Velvet Underground gig

Neither of us knew what we were saying

I remember us joking about her silver wig

 

The way she used to be was so beautiful

KInd and caring and wide open to ideas

Not the cracked empty vessel she became

A sad broken woman in thrall to her fears

 

We took an apartment in Greenwich Village

Working in Tin Pan Alley she met the stars

Her head got turned by a rising folk artist

He plied her with promises drugs and cars

 

The way she used to be was so beautiful

KInd and caring and wide open to ideas

Not the cracked empty vessel she became

A sad broken woman in thrall to her fears

 

The child wasn't mine but still I loved him

I tried to wean her off coke, keep her calm

She'd go back to the singer for weeks on end

Then I noticed fresh needles marks in her arm

 

THe way she used to be was so beautiful

Kind and caring and wide open to ideas

Not the cracked empty vessel she became

A sad broken woman in thrall to her fears

 

Since we split I could only watch her slide

These days she turns tricks and peddles dope

You curse her because she ripped you off

What's left is the kid, only he gives me hope

 

The way she used to be was so beautiful

Kind and caring and wide open to ideas

Not the cracked empty vessel she became

A sad broken woman in thrall to her fears