She was the Cinderella of New York
Started out with little just the ghetto-nothing home
But soon she's living like rich people do
Wielding plastic up and down at Fifth Avenue
But first she grew up on the Bowery
Only friends were homeless taught her Harlem harmony
She'd sing her songs and people stop and smile
For a quarter they forgot New York a while
And then at night when the people all went home
She'd dig out her cardboard house alone
And in it she'd wait with coffee cup in hand and sing
Give, you know it's Christmas
Give, whatever just you can is just enough
I need you now to help me help myself
Give, yourself at Christmas
Love may be the only thing you've got to share
The love's enough so give
She saved her quarters moved uptown a bit
Got a subway gig and in Penn Station was a hit
But still she longed to live the underground
Maybe CBGB maybe Broadway bound
She sang for years til one man came along
Signed a record deal, paid big money for her songs
So now it's park-view days and sold-out nights
All the homeless, all the cardboard's outta sight
But still at night when the people all go home
She sits in her park penthouse alone
She thinks of her home and wonders if her friends still sing
Give, you know it's Christmas
Give, whatever just you can is just enough
I need you now to help me help myself
Give, yourself at Christmas
Love may be the only thing you've got to share
The love's enough so love