Today I stumbled from my bed
With thunder crashing in my head
My pillow still wet
From last night's tears
And as I think of giving up
A voice inside my coffee cup
Kept crying out
Ringing in my ears
Don't cry, daddy
Daddy, please don't cry
Daddy, you've still got me and little Tommy
And together we'll find a brand new mommy
Daddy, daddy, please laugh again
Daddy, ride us on your back again
Oh, daddy, please, don't cry
Why are children always first
To feel the pain and the hurt the worst?
It's true but somehow
It just don't seem right
'Cause every time I cry, I know
It hurts my little children, so I wonder
Will it be the same tonight?
Don't cry, daddy
Daddy, please don't cry
Daddy, you've still got me and little Tommy
And together we'll find a brand new mommy
Daddy, daddy, please laugh again
Daddy, ride us on your back again
Oh, daddy, please, don't cry
Oh, daddy, please don't cry
As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
It is another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
Well, the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car
Tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And as her young man dies
(In the ghetto)
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his mama cries
(In the ghetto)
(In the ghetto)
(Ah)
