Shakey Davey's got a twelve gauge in his hand
Its sawed off to the limit, hes got a vague plan
There's this liquor store on Madison, there's another one down on Washington Square
Hes pretty sure no ones ever seen him down around there
The first ones bird shot, the next four are double aught buck
The last ones a slug just for good luck
Hes got his works in his pocket he wants to score as soon as he's done
He cant 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
Its right around midnight and there's still too damn many people on this street
Hes walked all the way from Battery park, hes got sweaty hands and burning feet
Hes desperate for a fix his body's screaming get me high
He bursts the door and lets one fly
Sunrise in the park and Davey's cold as stone
He got some bad merchandise and he's all alone
Two more unsolved mysteries alot of paper pushed around
Most folks are just waking up in this great big town
Its sawed off to the limit, hes got a vague plan
There's this liquor store on Madison, there's another one down on Washington Square
Hes pretty sure no ones ever seen him down around there
The last ones a slug just for good luck
Hes got his works in his pocket he wants to score as soon as he's done
He cant wait to get straight to get long gone
Scribbles off a short note
Sits himself down and waits for the sun to go down
Hes walked all the way from Battery park, hes got sweaty hands and burning feet
Hes desperate for a fix his body's screaming get me high
He bursts the door and lets one fly
He got some bad merchandise and he's all alone
Two more unsolved mysteries alot of paper pushed around
Most folks are just waking up in this great big town
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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