Don't Forget 127th Street

Don't forget 127th Street,
Don't forget your happy Harlem home.
Don't forget 127th Street,
No siree, there's no slum like your own!
Remember winter evenings at that window,
Watching those evictions in the snow.
Oh, no, Joe,
Don't forget 127th Street
(A little bit of heaven!)
Wherever you may go.

Don't forget the cultural life on this here street,
Richer than the outside world suspects.
Hark! The cheerful patter of all the junkies' feet,
And the soothing tones of Malcolm X.
Each night we hasten to our spotless subway,
Riding home is always such a treat.
Oh, no, Joe,
Don't forget our beautiful old ancestral home
(An angel named it Harlem!)
Called 127th Street.

Remember moonlight on the Harlem River
And the cops all strolling two by two.
Oh, no, Joe,
Don't forget 127th Street
(Our dandy little ghetto!)
Whatever you may do.

WOMEN
Don't forget 127th Street,
Here where you were born and raised and fed.
As a nice li'l baby, you always smiled so sweet
When the falling plaster hit your head.

JOE
Sure, when I'm driving in my big Ferrari
With some luscious rich chick as my pet,
Believe me,
How I'll miss this beautiful '27th Street,
(Ladies and gentlemen, I assure you!)
I'll miss it every chance I get.

KIDS
Don't forget our glorious P.S. 42
With the ninety kids in every class.
Radiators full of ice all winter through,
Man, oh, man, you really freeze your

JOE, RONNIE
H is for the heroin they sell here,
A is for the alleys where kids play,
R is for the rats that run pell-mell here,
L is for the landlords far away.
E is for the endless clean-up projects,
M is for the moldy rooms above.
Put them all together, they spell Harlem,
The place that white folks think we love.

RONNIE, JOE, ENSEMBLE
So when you're far away in some strange city,
All alone and feeling mighty blue,
Oh, no, Joe,
Don't forget 127th Street,
For 127th Street will never forget --
(The neighborhood is classy,
We got rats as big as Lassie)
'7th Street will never forget --
(Keep your mink and ermine,
We got fifty kinds of vermin)
'7th Street will never forget --
(We got a right to howl,
We got Adam Clayton Powell)
'7th Street will never forget you!