Carlos and carmen vidal just had a child
a lovely girl with a crooked smile
now they gotta split 'cause the bronx ain't fit
for a kid to grow up in
let's find a place they say, somewhere far away
with no blacks, no jews and no gays

chorus:
there but for the grace of god go i
Poppy and the family left the dirty streets
to find a quiet place overseas
and year after year the kid has to hear
the do's the don'ts and the dears
and when she's ten years old she digs that rock 'n' roll
but poppy bans it from home

chorus
Baby, she turns out to be a natural freak
popping pills and smoking weed
and when she's sweet sixteen she packs her things and leaves
with a man she met on the street
carmen starts to bawl, bangs her head to the wall
too much love is worse than none at all

chorus