| Year: | 1974 |
| Rank: | 45 |
| Duration: | 7:22 |
| Views: | 7.2M |
A boy is born in hard time Mississippi
Surrounded by four
walls that ain't so pretty
His parents give him love and
affection
To keep him strong movin' in the right direction
Living just enough, just enough for the city
His father works some days for fourteen hours
And you can
bet he barely makes a dollar
His mother goes to scrub the
floors for many
And you'd best believe she hardly gets a
penny
Living just enough, just enough for the city
His sister's black but she is sure enough pretty
Her skirt
is short but, Lord, her legs are sturdy
To walk to school
she's got to get up early
Her clothes are old but never
are they dirty
Living just enough, just enough for the
city
Her brother's smart, he's got more sense than many
His
patience's long but soon he won't have any
To find a job
is like a haystack needle
'Cause where he lives they don't
use colored people
Living just enough, just enough for the
city
Living just enough for the city
Living just enough for the
city
Living just enough for the city
His hair is long, his feet are hard and gritty
He spends
his life walkin' the streets of New York city
He's almost
dead from breathin' in air pollution
He tried to vote but
to him there's no solution
Living just enough, just enough
for the city
I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it
motivates you to make a better tomorrow
This place is
cruel, no where could be much colder
If we don't change,
the world will soon be over
Living just enough, stop
giving just enough for the city