1. [C]I am just a poor boy
Though my story’s seldom [Am]told
I have [G]squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are [C]promises
All lies and [Am]jest
Still, a [G]man hears what he wants to [F]hear
And disregards the [C]rest
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-[G]mm
Mm-mm-mm-mm-[C]mm
When I [C]left my home and my family
I was no more than a [Am]boy
In the [G]company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station
[C]Running scared
Laying [Am]low, seeking [G]out the poorer [F]quarters
Where the ragged people [C]go
Looking [G]for the places [F]only they would [C]know
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[Em]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[G]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-[C]lie
2. Asking [C]only workman’s wages
I come looking for a [Am]job
But I get no [G]offers
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh [C]Avenue
I do [Am]declare, there were [G]times when I was so [F]lonesome
I took some comfort [C]there
La-la-la-la-la-la-[G]la [C]
Now the [C]years are rolling by me
they are rockin’ [Am]evenly
I am [G]older than I once was
and younger than I’ll be and that’s not [C]unusual.
No it isn’t [Am]strange
after [G]changes upon [F]changes
we are more or less the [C]same
after [G]changes we are [F]more or less the [C]same
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[Em]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[G]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-[C]lie
3. Then I’m [C]laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was [Am]gone
Going [G]home
Where the New York City winters aren’t [C]bleeding me
[Em]Leading [Am]me
Going [G]home [C]
In the [C]clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his [Am]trade
And he [G]carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
Or [C]cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his [Am]shame
“I am [G]leaving, I am [F]leaving”
But the fighter still [C]remains [G][F][C]
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[Em]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[G]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[Em]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[G]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[Em]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-[Am]lie
Lie-la-[G]lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-[C]lie