Where is Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" walking?

In Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman," the woman is walking down the street. The opening line immediately introduces her as a passerby whom the singer notices and hopes to meet. The song turns that brief street encounter into a playful, increasingly urgent conversation.

Released in 1964, "Oh, Pretty Woman" was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. Orbison's expressive voice, the famous guitar opening and the repeated "Mercy" helped make it one of his signature recordings. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became an international hit.

The lyric describes movement through a public street rather than naming a particular city or destination. Later, the singer asks her not to walk on by or walk away, then imagines that she is walking back to him. People sometimes associate the song primarily with the 1990 film Pretty Woman, but the recording predates that movie by more than two decades. The film renewed the song's popularity and introduced it to a new generation.