A boy is born in hard time Mississippi / Surrounded by four walls that ain’t so pretty / His parents give him love and affection / To keep him strong moving in the right direction / Living just enough, just enough for the city… ee ha
His father works some days for fourteen hours / And you can bet he barely makes a dollar / His mother goes to scrub the floor for many / And you’d best believe she hardly gets a penny / Living just enough, just enough for the city… yeah
His sister’s black but she is sho ‘nuff pretty / Her skirt is short but Lord her legs are sturdy / To walk to school she’s got to get up early / Her clothes are old but never are they dirty / Living just enough, just enough for the city… um hum
Her brother’s smart he’s got more sense than many / His patience’s long but soon he won’t have any / To find a job is like a haystack needle / Cause where he lives they don’t use colored people / Living just enough, just enough for the city…
His hair is long, his feet are hard and gritty / He spends his life walking the streets of New York City / He’s almost dead from breathing in air pollution / He tried to vote but to him there’s no solution / Living just enough, just enough for the city… yeah, yeah, yeah
I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow / And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow / This place is cruel no where could be much colder / If we don’t change the world will soon be over / Living just enough, just enough for the city!
La la la la la… / Da ba da ba da… / No no no no no…
[By Stevie Wonder © Tamla, 1973]