Hot night in the city streets
Old papers blowin' 'round my feet
Some dude's got heis eyes on you
Better walk quickly down the avenue
Somewhere somebody's baby cries
A new heart beats as another one dies

It ain't easy but you live and learn
If you don't get what you want
You might get what you deserve

It's a rough town
You give it all just to live in fear
No refuge no place to run
Talkin' 'bout a rough town
Gotta find a way to get outta here
Ain't no way around it
It's a rough town

Cold dawn comes with the break of day
Morning sky turns gun metal grey
From an upstairs window there's a woman scream
A nightmare vision from some junkes dream
An angry fist beatin' on an old steel door
Tell me why you here
Who are you lookin' for ?

It ain't easy but it ain't for long
This place is crazy
Tell me, hey, where did things go wrong ?

It's a rough town
Middle of the night and the street's alive
It's a gamble it's a chance you take
Talkin' 'bout a rough town
Gonna turn your world inside out
Call it what you want but
It's a rough town

2 a.m. I can't get to sleep
I bin lyin' here on these sweat-stained sheets
Beneath my window the city crawls
It's a rat race outside these walls, oh Yeah !

It's a rough town
You give it all just to live in fear
No refuge no place to run
Gotta find a way to get outta here
Ain't no way around it
It's a rough town

It's a rough town
Middle of the night and the street's alive
It's a gamble it's a chance you take
Talkin' 'bout a rough town
Gonna turn your world inside out
Call it what you want but
It's a rough town.