From cotton to satin, from Birmingham to Manhattan From a pickup to a long limousine From cotton to satin, from Birmingham to Manhattan She had to follow her dream I saved up enough to buy her one small diamond That's the year that old tractor broke down And the dream house I promised her still lies by a shade tree Some old bricks and boards all around She begged me to take her to see New York city So I mortgaged the farm and we were gone But while we were there she took up with a rich man
I came back to the country alone Now, there is the garden where she touched every flower There's the meadow where we walked hand in hand If only she'd waited she'd have more than she dreamed of For today they struck oil on my land She went from cotton to satin, from Birmingham to Manhattan From a pickup to a lonely limousine From cotton to satin, from Birmingham to Manhattan She had to follow her dream She went from cotton to satin