i was born an only child on a warm jersey night my mother was a dressmaker my father drove a truck my family never was much good when it came to money luck no me and my best friend took to stealing when we were only 16 and one year in the county jail made a man out of tommy and me we caught the train to new york we thought we were so tough we started fighting for quick cash we decided we didn t need the money that bad we were the runaway children always lost in the dark trying to forget where we came from trying to make a new start oh but it was so hard earned my first honest dollar workin at the mill outside of town tommy went elsewhere never did like the sound of a poor man cryin tommy got mixed up with people the kind of people you just don t get mixed up with and they beat him so bad he he almost didn t live to regret it but he did uh thank god he did we were the runaway children still lost in the dark trying to forget where we came from trying to make a new start oh but it was so hard so hard it was just so hard but tommy moved eight years ago out to las vegas now he sweeps the floors in the casinos oh and he gambles when he s able when will he ever learn when will he ever learn and me i went back home oh and i made it just in time to say i m sorry for what i d done right before my mother died now i drive a truck just like i swore i never would but i need the money worse than i need the luck i know my old man just did the best that he could with what he had it s funny the things we finally learn how to have of we were just runaway children lost in the dark trying to forget where we came from oh but we never we never made it that far never made it that far oh but it s still so hard it s still so hard