I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest mmmm mmmm mmmmmm,  mmm mm mm mmmmm 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, runnin' 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 la la lie la lie, lie la lie Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie Asking only workman's wages, I come lookin' for a job But I get no offers, just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there La la, la la la la la   (Instrumental) :                                   Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie 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 meeeeee, going home         In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him 'til he cried out In his anger and his shame, "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains" Mmmm mmmmm    Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie                                  Lie lie lie, lie        (ad lib)