I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
I havesquandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles,
Such are promises, alllies and jest,
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards therest, hmmmm
When I left my home and my family, I's no more than aboy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station,runnin' scared, laying low,
Seeking out the poorer quarters, where theragged people go,
Looking for the places only they would know
Li lali
Asking only workman's wages, I come lookin' for a job,
But Iget no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on 7th Avenue
I do declare,there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there
Lala la
(Instrumental bridge)
Li la li
And I'm layingout my winter clothes and wishing I was gone,
goin' home
Where the NewYork City winters aren't bleedin' me, leadin' me,
goin' home
In theclearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries thereminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'Til he cried out inhis anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter stillremains

Li la li