Dead End Street (Monologue) Lou Rawls

I was born in a city the called the Windy City
And they called it the Windy City because of the Hawk
The hawk. The all mighty Hawk
Mr. Wind
Takes care of plenty business around winter time
The place that I lived in
Was on a street that a
Happened to be one of the dead-end streets
Where there was nothing to block
The wind, the elements
Nothing to buffer them for me to
Keep them from knocking my pad down, you know
I mean really socking it to me
When the boiler would bust and the heat was gone
I would have to get fully dressed before I could go the bed
Cause I couldn't put on my goulashes cause they had buckles on them
And my folks didn't play that
They said "don't you tear up my bed clothes with some goulashes on"
But I was fortunate
As soon as I was big enough to get a job save enough money
To get a ticket to catch anything
I split
I said one day I'm going to return
And I'm going to straighten it all out
And I'm about ready to go back now
So I thought I'd tell ya about it
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They say this is a big rich town
But I live in the poorest part
I know I'm on a dead-end street
In a city without a heart
I learned to fight before I was six
The only way I could get along
But when you're raised on a dead-end street
You've got to be tough and strong
Now all the guys I know are getting in trouble
That's how its always been
When the odds are all against you
How can you win, yeah, yeah, yeah