Come you Ladies and you Gentlemen, a-listen to my song
Sing it to you right but you might think it's wrong
Just a little glimpse of a story I'll tell
"Bout an East Coast city that you all know well
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Old New York City is a friendly old town
From Washington Heights to Harlem on down
There's a-mighty many people in a millin' all around
They'll kick you when you're up and knock you when you're down
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Well, the weak and the strong and the rich and the poor
Gather together, ain't room for no more
Crowded up above, crowded down below
And when someone disappears, you never even know
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
It's a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate
To Rockefeller Plaza an' the Empire State
Mister Empire sets up as high as a bird
And old Mister Rockefeller never says a word
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
Well, it's up in the mornin', tryin' to fins a job of work
Stand in one place till your feet begin to hurt
If you got a lot o' money you can make yourself merry
If you only got a nickel, it's the Staten Island Ferry
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
Mister Hudson come a-sailin' down the stream
And old Mister Minuet paid for his dream
Bought your city on a one-way track
'F I had my way, I'd sell it right back
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
I'll take all the smog in Californeay
An' every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains
An' the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines
It's all much cleaner than the New York kind
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Said all you newsy people that spread the news around
You listen to my story, you listen to my song
You can step on my name, you can try an' get me beat
When I leave New York, I'll be standin' on my feet
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
Sing it to you right but you might think it's wrong
Just a little glimpse of a story I'll tell
"Bout an East Coast city that you all know well
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Old New York City is a friendly old town
From Washington Heights to Harlem on down
There's a-mighty many people in a millin' all around
They'll kick you when you're up and knock you when you're down
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Well, the weak and the strong and the rich and the poor
Gather together, ain't room for no more
Crowded up above, crowded down below
And when someone disappears, you never even know
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
It's a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate
To Rockefeller Plaza an' the Empire State
Mister Empire sets up as high as a bird
And old Mister Rockefeller never says a word
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
Well, it's up in the mornin', tryin' to fins a job of work
Stand in one place till your feet begin to hurt
If you got a lot o' money you can make yourself merry
If you only got a nickel, it's the Staten Island Ferry
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
Mister Hudson come a-sailin' down the stream
And old Mister Minuet paid for his dream
Bought your city on a one-way track
'F I had my way, I'd sell it right back
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
I'll take all the smog in Californeay
An' every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains
An' the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines
It's all much cleaner than the New York kind
It's hard times in the country
Livin' down in New York town
Said all you newsy people that spread the news around
You listen to my story, you listen to my song
You can step on my name, you can try an' get me beat
When I leave New York, I'll be standin' on my feet
It's hard times from the country
Livin' down in New York town
