working real hard in the heart of the city noon day sun feeling hot and sweaty trying to make my pay trying to make my monthly rent working real hard for the us dollar living real poor gonna make me holler i don t wanna live in the street like some folks do i was raised up on the corner in front of a grocery store shining shoes with the daily news for two pence on the floor given a chance i d go back to the days of a simpler time cause this old world s gone crazy and i m about to lose my mind working real hard in the heart of the city noon day sun feeling hot and sweaty trying to make my pay trying to make my monthly rent working real hard for the us dollar living real poor gonna make me holler i don t wanna live in the street like some folks do my brother drives delivery right down on dolphin street has a little house by the railroad track kinda small but it was neat the police came and got him for robbing a liquor store and even though he didn t do it they got what they came for working real hard in the heart of the city noon day sun feeling hot and sweaty trying to make my pay trying to make my monthly rent working real hard for the us dollar living real poor gonna make me holler i don t wanna live in the street like some folks do it s a poor man but life is bitter sweet doesn t wanna lose that good thing that he s got but the same old government that pays you every week will come and take your home away and put you in the street working real hard in the heart of the city noon day sun feeling hot and sweaty trying to make my pay trying to make my monthly rent working real hard for the us dollar living real poor gonna make me holler i don t wanna live in the street like some folks do