Larry Hart and Richard Rodgers
Were a pair of artful dodgers
Who found success
In the US;
For myself, I find New Yorkers
Somewhat brash and rather raucous --
Why don't we stay
In the UK?
We had Manhattan, we had the chattin' and the talk,
We had that song about New York,
But there's a city that's far more pretty in the West,
I think you may have guessed,
I know you'll be impressed,
It's the best.
As Aquae Sulis this little jewel is sometimes known,
A place the Georgians made their own;
This is the city you can't forget,
Restored into Somerset --
Who'd have Manhattan when you can come to Bath?
The Royal Crescent is always pleasant on the eye,
And now those buses don't pass by.
Go round the Circus -- what else could work as perfectly?
Admire its symmetry,
A circle cut in three,
Radially.
The bridge at Pulteney would not insult Neapolitans,
And even Florentines are fans;
This is the city without compare,
Remember to see Queen Square --
Who'd have Manhattan when you can come to Bath?
Down by the Avon, it's such a haven from the crowd,
The rugby never seems too loud;
Round by the Abbey it's never shabby, dull or flat --
The buskers see to that,
Put something in their hat,
Rat-a-tat.
In Sydney Gardens they need no pardons for the view,
You've got canal and railway too.
This is the city no one can spoil,
So visit the Theatre Royal --
Who'd have Manhattan when you can come to Bath?
Go up to Combe Down -- there's loads of room down Foxhill way,
Go round to Walcot Street and play.
Go out to Twerton and do some flirtin' for a lark,
Or really make your mark
And go to Oldfield Park
After dark.
Go down to Whiteway -- you know the right way, I assume,
Or take a trip to Monkton Combe.
This is the city of home and hearth,
You know every street and path --
Who'd have Manhattan when you can live in Bath?
-- Guy Barry (after Lorenz Hart)
