[Verse 1: Damon Harris and Otis Williams]
Money, I ain't got none
(Where I was born, everything was dull and dingy)
Job, can't find one
I lived in a place they called the inner city
The streets raised me from a baby
(Getting ahead, huh, was strictly a no-no
'Cause nobody cares what happens to folks that live in the ghetto)

[Verse 2: Richard Street and Damon Harris]
Thousand of lives wasting away
People living from day to day
This is a challenge just staying alive
'Cause in the ghetto, only the strong survives

[Verse 2: Damon Harris and Melvin Franklin]
Broken down homes, kids strung out
They don't even know what life's all about
Stealin' cars, robbin' bars
Muggin', drugs, rat-infested and no one's interested

[Verse 3: Richard Street and Damon Harris]
Kids dodgin' cars for recreation
Only adds to a mother's frustration
Break-ins, folks comin' home and findin' all their possessions gone
Oh ho
[Outro: Dennis Edwards]
It's an every day thing - well well - in the ghetto
It's an every day thing in the ghetto