jacob comes from memphis
he's a self-made man, owned half of tennessee
and now he's sold off all his old friends
and bought up the past and paid down on you and me
yes and new york may be the new world
but she's still a filthy concrete bitch without a soul
but it don't matter 'cause jacob you know he wants her
because he's climbed so high there's nowhere left to go

it's an american love affair
it's an american dream
somebody said that it's everywhere
nobody's sure what it means
but if you wake with your mind on fire
too frightened even to scream
it's just an american love affair
just an american dream

sweet rebecca, she's a go-getter
she'll tell you that she loves you for a price
and she should know better, but no one's let her
take the time to think at all, much less think twice
and now all the glitter and the human litter
that surround her seem as normal as the sky
and in the morning if you buy her diamonds
she will always try to guess how much but never why

it's an american love affair'