Ike & Tina Turner — Living for the City

[Verse 1] A boy is born in hard time Mississippi Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty His parents give him love and affection To keep him strong and movin' in the right direction Livin' just enough, just enough for the city [Verse 2] His father works some days for fourteen hours And you can believe that he barely makes a dollar His mother goes to scrub floors for many And you can bet that she hardly makes a penny They're livin' just enough, just enough for the city, yeah [Verse 3] His sister is black, but she is sho 'nuff pretty And her skirt is short, Lord knows her legs are sturdy And to walk to school she's got to get up early Her clothes are old, but they are never ever dirty They're livin' just enough, just enough for the city [Verse 4] Her brother is smart, he's got more sense than many His patience is long, but soon he won't have any 'Cause to find a job is like a haystack needle 'Cause where he lives they don't use colored people They're livin' just enough, just enough for the city Oh, ah, unchain, yeah! [Verse 5] Oh, they're livin' just enough 'Cause they ain't got enough Before they start Ain't got no start Livin' in a little one-room country shack But it's the home The only home they'll ever know One day, somebody's gonna come along Gonna take them children straight on home Oh, yeah! All they got Is just enough Sometimes they don't eat enough They can't live enough They ain't hardly got no pulls on their back Ain't no covers on their bed Hardly a roof over their head