Well the world turns and a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows in the ghetto

And his hunger burns, so he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal and he learns how to fight in the ghetto

Then one night in desperation a young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car, tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand in the ghetto

As her young man dies on a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
Another little baby child is born in the ghetto

And his mama cries