No one knows exactly where he came from It wassomewhere in arkansaw grew up flat broke with no education Had his run-ins with the law His fists became his passport out of hell When some guys saw he used them pretty well They'd found something to sell
But Sonny tell me when you were young you had to fight Became the champion And you were walkin' dynamite prayed on their fears though quite sincere They wouldn't let you change Oh can't you tell me?
flying back to philly in the morning With the belt stashed in his bag he talked of how the whole world would treat him better. now he was the champ Said he'd like to give a little break But no-one listens toa despised black except a well-worn hack
But Sonny tell me when you were young you had to fight Became the champion And you were walkin' dynamite prayed on their fears though quite sincere They wouldn't let you change Oh can't you tell me?
Minds made up and ears closed against you You just couldn't understand You'd made them rich, yeah you'd entertained them. You were still a hated man It seemed like they had used you as their clown But never let the bastards grind you down.
But Sonny tell me when you were young you had to fight Became the champion And you were walkin' dynamite prayed on their fears though quite sincere They wouldn't let you change Oh can't you tell me?
But Sonny tell me when you were young you had to fight Became the champion And you were walkin' dynamite prayed on their fears though quite sincere They wouldn't let you change Oh can't you tell me?
A man deserves his dignity A man deserves his pride <i>[Repeat]</i>