I am just a poor boy though my story s seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of a railway station, running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know
Lie la lie Lie la lie Lie la lie Lie la lie Lie la lie
Asking only workman s wages I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the s on Seventh Avenue
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there
Lie lie lie lie la
Then I m laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone
Going home where the New York City winters aren t bleeding me
Leading me, going home.
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade
And he carries a reminder ov ev ry glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving
But the fighter still remains
Lie la lie ... etc.