All alone in this cold phone booth
Rain is drizzlin' down
Enough to give anybody the blues
When one thin dime can't be found
I ain't got a calling card and I swore I'd never call collect
My pride is wounded … car's broke down
And I'm a nervous wreck
Chorus 35 cents … I've got a quarter … somebody loan me a dime
35 cents … I got a quarter … somebody help me
Got to get my baby on the line
Even the moon is hidin' out
On this dangerous side of the tracks
I've searched in every pocket twice
Checked between the cracks
I don't see a change machine for the $20 bill in my shoe
Did I just hear somebody scream …
What's a poor boy to do