Tom Paxton - Livin' The Street Life lyrics

When I left my home behind me And I heard that screen door slam I fell that no one knew me And that no one gave a damn Always scrappin' with my momma Always fightin' with my old man We had one hard fight too many So I packed my bags and ran Yeah, I headed for the city Where the knock-down people go Where the lights are on till morning And it's anything but slow So I fell in with some strangers And the first thing that they done Was to take my leather jacket And then kick my head for fun And it's hard, hard Livin' the street life Sleepin' in doorways wrapped in cardboard Gettin' sicker day by day Yes, it's hard, hard Livin' the street life And I wish I had some way of gettin' away I met up with a kid named Luis And he knew his way around He knew ev'ry inch of the subway And his life was underground He was very hard on people Who would work from nine to five But he sold his body to them And he called it stayin' alive When it's cold and wet and lonely It can hurt you really bad And you think about the family That you never really had With a hunger in your belly And a fever startin' to burn You've got the freedom of the city But you've got nowhere to turn ‘Cause it's hard, hard Livin' the street life Sleepin' in doorways wrapped in cardboard Gettin' sicker day by day Yes, it's hard, hard Livin' the street life And I wish I had some way of gettin' away When I left my home behind me And I heard that screen door slam I fell that no one knew me And that no one gave a damn Always scrappin' with my momma Always fightin' with my old man We had one hard fight too many So I packed my bags and ran But it's hard, hard Livin' the street life Sleepin' in hallways wrapped in cardboard Gettin' sicker day by day Yes, it's hard, hard Livin' the street life And I wish I had some way of gettin' away Gettin' away (Gettin' away) Gettin' away (Gettin' away) Gettin' away (Gettin' away) Gettin' away (Gettin' away) Gettin' away Gettin' away (Hard, hard, hard) (Hard, hard, hard)