Girl on the Street

She spied me through the traffic and was on me in a flash
Some soft soaked out-of-towner and an easy mark for cash
In contrast to her ragged cloak of filth and disrepair
Was a dark-eyed mystic beauty and a raven shock of hair

With what was feral frantic motion, her every move was laced
With the kind of desperation born of demons not yet face
Quite clearly, she was hounded by some not-too-distant past
That was feasting on each moment like it just might be her last

The girl on the street was once somebody's daughter, yeah
The girl on the street was once somebody's friend
The girl on the street, one more lamb, led to the slaughter
Where for three dimes and a quarter, she gets nothing in the end

She hit me up with hunger, first things first, you know
But a little too coquettish for my sympathy to show
She offered up her favors with a nod below the belt
And a parting shot at pity for the cards that she'd been dealt

Its drugs said I be truthful, it's right there in your eyes
You know that stuff will kill you, it's a loaded pack of lies
She rolled her sleeve, slapped her vein and spat out three months clean
Hey, don't pretend you know me, man, just cough up something green

The girl on the street was once somebody's daughter, yeah
The girl on the street was once somebody's friend
The girl on the street found you tailor, made to order
And for three dimes and a quarter, you get nothing in the end

So with the loose change in my pocket, I let myself off light
When I could have helped her find some food and shelter for the night
Compassion for the dope sick, 20-something whore
Hits way to close to home for me to open up that door
So please, don't say, go easy, man, so what if you came up short?
I might have made a difference if I only had the heart

The girl on the street was once somebody's daughter, yeah
The girl on the street was once somebody's friend
The girl on the street in spite of everything they taught her
Gone for three dimes and a quarter, and you still lose her in the end