As the snow flies    On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'    A poor little baby child is born    In the ghetto    And his mama cries    'cause if there's one thing that she don't need    it's another hungry mouth to feed    In the ghetto       People, don't you understand    the child needs a helping hand    or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day    Take a look at you and me,    are we too blind to see,    do we simply turn our heads    and look the other way       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