I was the cleaning man I was the cleaning man Listened to the radio play 'Cowgirl in the Sand' When I was the cleaning man I was the cleaning man After everyone had come To talk and drink and dance I could see the evening scene reflecting in the cans Now echoes of the empty room return with loneliness And in the darkness of the night I take the devil's hand When I was the cleaning man I was death's hand I was heroin To somebody I shouldn't have been I was heroin I was death's hand I was the thief who stole all those women and men I stood at the funerals of relatives and friends And like a Midas eye wishing my greed and curse would end When I was the cleaning man When I was the cleaning man When I was the cleaning man