It's a hard knock life for us
It's a hard knock life for us
Instead of treated, we get tricked
Instead of kisses, we get kicked
It's a hard knock life

Got no folks to speak of, so
It's a hard knock row we how
Cotton blankets, instead of wool
Empty bellies, instead of full
It's a hard knock life

Don't it feel like the wind is always howlin'?
Don't it seem like there's never any light
One today, don't you wanna throw the towel in?
It's easier than puttin' up a fight

No one's there when your dreams at night get creepy
No one cares if you grow or if you shrink
No one dries when your eyes get wet an' weepy
From all the cryin' you would think this place's a sink, oh, oh

Empty belly life, rotten smelly life
Full of sorrow life, no tomorrow life

Santa Claus we never see
Santa Claus, what's that, who's he?
No one cares for you, a smidge
When you're in an orphanage
It's a hard knock life

It's a hard knock life for us
Instead of treated, we get tricked
Instead of kisses, we get kicked
It's a hard knock life

You'll stay up till this dump shines
Like the top of the Chrysler building, kill, kill
Yank the whiskers from her chin
Jab her with a safety pin
Make her drink a Mickey Finn

I love you, Miss Hannigan
Get to work, strip them beds
Scrub that floor
Polish my shoes
And I mean start now

It's a hard knock life for us
It's a hard knock life for us
No one cares for you, a smidge
When you're in an orphanage

It's a hard knock life
It's a hard knock life
It's a hard knock life
It's a hard knock life