In The Ghetto -- Elvis Presley

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 theres one thing that she don’t need
It’s another hungry mouth to feed  In the ghetto

People, dont you understand  The child needs a helping hand  Or hell 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 dont 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  As her young man dies,  In the ghetto

This song is about poverty, describing a child who can't overcome his surroundings and turns to crime, which leads to his death. It was the first song Elvis recorded with a socially-conscious message. He was reluctant to do it for that reason, but knew it would be a hit.