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 jests, still a man hears
What he wants to ear
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 the 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

Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job but I get 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
La la lie lie lie lie lie

Lie-la-lie

Now 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 the reminders
Of 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