A boy is born,
In hard time Missis-sippi,
Surrounded by;
Four walls that ain't so pretty.
His parents give,
Him love and af-fection,
To keep him strong;
Moving in the right di-rection.
Living just enough, just enough,
For the city ee ha!
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
Da ba da da, da da, da,
Da da da da, da da da.
Da da da da,
Da da da da da.
His sister's black,
But she is sho'nuff 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,
'Cos where he lives,
They don't use coloured people.
Living just enough, just enough,
For the city
Da ba da da, da da, da,
Da da da da, da da da.
Da da da da,
Da da da da da.
Living just e-nough,
For the city, yeah,
Living just e-nough,
For the city.
Living just e-nough,
For the city, yeah,
Living just e-nough,
For the city.
Living just e-nough,
For the city, yeah,
Living just e-nough,
For the city.
Living just e-nough,
For the city, yeah,
Living just e-nough,
For the city.
His hair is long,
His feet are hard and gritty,
He spends his life,
Walking the streets of New York City.
He's almost dead,
From breathing in air pol-lution,
He tried to vote,
But to him there's no so-lution.
Living just enough, just enough,
For the city
I hope you hear,
In-side my voice of sorrow;
And that it motivates you,
To make a better to-morrow.
This place is cruel,
No where could be much colder,
If we don't change;
The world will soon be over.
Will soon be over.
Living just enough, just enough,
For the city
Da ba da da, da da, da,
Da da da da, da da da.
Da da da da,
Da da da da da.