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Elvis In The Ghetto

Elvis' "In The Ghetto" was recorded in 1969 at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The song was written by Mac Davis, a well-known and successful songwriter in his own right, best-known later on for writing and singing, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me."

This song was recorded after much political and social turmoil in the late sixties after the Martin Luther King assassination.

There was doubt in Elvis' camp as to whether he should record a political and social message song and have it backfire. Elvis decide to record the song believing the strong message would enlighten the world as it did in his own heart. After recording "In The Ghetto" Elvis said he would only record songs he strongly believed in because he followed his heart in picking this song.

In The Ghetto (Mac Davis)

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