In The Ghetto

this song is so sad. It's about not being able to get out of poverty; being subjected to crime, hatred, prejudice; and when you finally die(probably after being in the mids of a gang shooting), another baby has born and he/she is to lead the same life you did.

one of the best songs of elvis

I agree surely one of his greatest

dear la_femme_morte89, so you're saying that as soon as a person becomes rich and famous, they're no longer allowed to discuss social and political issues? i'd say that if anyone should be discussing life in the ghetto, it is someone like elvis who has a large enough platform to influence/educate a lot of people in the words of bill hicks, "you fucking moron. you FUCKING moron."

la_femme_morte89, Elvis was dirt poor growing up. Did you ever see the shack he lived in for the first 18 years of lhis life? And now you begrudge him for singing about the visciuos cyle of poverty? One that he know s and is grateful to have escaped. He gave millions to charity, how much do you give? And as Elvis sang, "Walk a mile in my(his) shoes" Bee-ahhch.

This is easily one of the greatest songs of all time!

This is an amazing song while also being an incredibly sad song, it's amazing what it portrays. These children have no help, they are born into a situation that they can't help and do things that they have to do to survive. We talk of the horrible things that happen yet we turn a blind eye to the things we could have an impact on. These kids need people who care about them and can help them but we don't do it.

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

Child born in the ghetto which mom will have a hard time tryin' to take care of.

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

Help the kid or he'll grow up to be an enemy. Do you just ignore him?

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

Most of you turn and he's hungry and sick.

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

the stage when he grows to be an enemy.

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

The climax; he dies trying to get the heck out of the ghetto.

As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man face down in the street with a gun in his hand In the ghetto

Crowd watches him dead

As her young man dies, on a cold and grey Chicago mornin', another little baby child is born In the ghetto And his mama cries

As he dies another mom has a baby and the process starts all over again

Just my attempted interpertation. To shorten it up. I could be wrong I could be right.

Strong lyrics. I think chamiga hit the nail on the head. Elvis himself came up poor but I don't think he was a criminal. But he did know about poverty.

Also, listen to, "If I can dream" maybe if the dead woman (La Femme mort) had that kind of optimism, as others should, we'd all be living in a better world. Obtuse troglodytes like her should just go live in France, spoonge off thier socialism and fade away.