I was just a tourist out on the great white way
Where lights make night as bright as day and day as dark as night
I visited the city seen all the finer sights
Then I thought I'd do some slummin' for a little while one night

I stepped into the shadows of a second rate cafe
The burlesques were before me in their old familiar way
As I drew near my table the front girl whirled around
And I rocognized my sweetheart from my own hometown
Yes she was just a hometown high school beauty queen
But everybody told her how she could be everything
When the contest finally ended and the judges called her name
She won a trip to Broadway where she would find the fame

I slowly turned around and stepped back into crowd
For I knew she mustn't seen me cause she always was too proud
And in that one lonely moment the truth my mind unveiled
The town she loved may failed her the town she thought she failed
So that night I wrote a letter on a homeward bound express
And it read congratulations to you on your success
But if you should ever decide to come back home again
Well you know I'll always be here waitin' just like I've always been
I was just a tourist out on the great white way
Where lights made night as bright as day and day as bright as night
When old friends ask about her I just smile at them and say
She's star of show on Broadway out on the great white way