Lyrics:

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.

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.

Li la li...

Asking only workman's wages,
I come lookin' 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 la...

Now the years are rolling by me,
They are rockin' evenly
I am older than I once was
And younger than I'll be that's not unusual.
It isn't strange
After changes upon changes,
We are more or less the same.
After changes we are more or less the same

Li la li...

And I'm laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone,
Going home
Where the New York City winters
Aren't bleedin' me,
Leadin' 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
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame,
'I am leaving, I am leaving.'
But the fighter still remains


Li la li...