Hard Times In New York Town - Demo - 1961

Come you ladies and you gentlemen, 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
 And it's hard times in the country
 Living 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 and a million all around
 They'll kick you when you're up and knock you when you're down
 And it's hard times in the country
 Living down in New York town
 When the weak and the strong
 And the rich and the poor
 Gather together and you roofin' 'em all
 Crowded up above and crowded down below
 And someone disappears and you never even know
 And it's hard times from the country
 Living down in New York town
 It's a mighty long ways from the Golden Gate
 To Rockefeller Plaza n' 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
 Living down in New York town
 Well, it's up in the mornin' tryin' to find a job of work
 Stand in one place 'til your feet begin to hurt
 If you got a lot of money you can make yourself merry
 If you only got a nickel, it's the Staten Island Ferry
 And it's hard times in the country
 Living down in New York town
 Mister Hudson come a-sailin' down the stream
 And old Minuet Mister had paid for his dream
 Bought your city on a one-way track
 If I had my way I'd sell it right back
 And it's hard times in the country
 Living down in New York town
 I'll take all the smog in California
 And every bit of dust in the Oklahoma plains
 And the dirt in the caves of the Rocky Mountain mines
 It's all much cleaner than the New York kind
 And it's hard times in the country
 Living down in New York town
 So all you newsy people, let's spread the news around
 You can listen to my story, you can listen to my song
 You can step on my name, you can try 'n' get me beat
 When I leave New York, I'll be standing on my feet
 And it's hard times in the country
 Living down in New York town