The original title of the song was βIn The Ghetto (The Vicious Circle)β, but RCA Records shortened it before handing it out to Elvis Presley. The end of the song describes the same picture as in the first verse, about a child born in the ghetto, whose father has just died, being born in the ghetto himself.
About The Song
Although Elvis Presley knew this song would be a hit, he was reluctant to record a song with a socially conscious message. The song describes a child who struggles in his surroundings and turns to crime, which ultimately leads to his death.
When Mac Davis, the writer of this track, entered the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2006, he explained at the ceremony, βItβs a simple matter of growing up with a little boy whoβs father worked with my father. He lived in a part of town that was a dirt-street ghetto.β
Video
Lyric
π΅ Letβs sing along with the lyrics! π€
As the snow fliesOn a cold and gray Chicago morninβA poor little baby child is bornIn the ghetto(In the ghetto)
And his mama criesβCause if thereβs one thing that she donβt needIt is another hungry mouth to feedIn the ghetto(In the ghetto)
People, donβt you understandThe child needs a helping handOr heβll grow to be an angry young man some dayTake a look at you and meAre we too blind to see?Do we simply turn our headsAnd look the other way
Well, the world turnsAnd a hungry little boy with a runny nosePlays in the street as the cold wind blowsIn the ghetto(In the ghetto)
And his hunger burnsSo he starts to roam the streets at nightAnd he learns how to stealAnd he learns how to fightIn the ghetto(In the ghetto)
Then one night in desperationThe young man breaks awayHe buys a gun, steals a carTries to run, but he donβt get farAnd his mama cries
As a crowd gathers βround an angry young manFace down on the street with a gun in his handIn the ghetto(In the ghetto)
And as her young man dies(In the ghetto)On a cold and gray Chicago morninβAnother little baby child is bornIn the ghetto(In the ghetto)
And his mama cries(In the ghetto)(In the ghetto)(Ah)
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