[Verse 1] Rambling out of the wild West Leaving the towns I love the best Thought I'd seen some ups and downs Till I come into New York town People going down to the ground Buildings going up to the sky [Verse 2] Wintertime in New York town The wind blowing snow around Walk around with nowhere to go Somebody could freeze right to the bone I froze right to the bone New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years I didn't feel so cold then [Verse 3] I swung on to my old guitar Grabbed hold of a subway car And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride I landed up on the downtown side Greenwich Village [Verse 4] I walked down there and ended up In one of them coffee-houses on the block Got on the stage to sing and play Man there said, “Come back some other day You sound like a hillbilly We want folk singers here” [Verse 5] Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play Blowing my lungs out for a dollar a day I blowed inside out and upside down The man there said he loved them sound He was raving about how he loved them sound Dollar a day's worth [Verse 6] And after weeks and weeks of hanging around I finally got a job in New York town In a bigger place, bigger money too Even joined the union and paid their dues [Verse 7] Now, a very great man once said That some people rob you with a fountain pen It didn't take too long to find out Just what he was talkin' about A lot of people don't have much food on their table But they got a lot of forks 'n' knives And they got to cut something [Verse 8] So one morning when the sun was warm I rambled out of New York town Pulled my cap down over my eyes And headed out for the western skies So long, New York Howdy, East Orange