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My Gen X Playlist: In the Ghetto – Natalie Merchant and Tracy Chapman

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What colleges have you attended?
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My college education was peppered with lessons in and out of the classroom. While academics provided formal lessons, there was far more to learn than through books: time management, critical thinking, socializing, becoming an adult. I also learned simple everyday things through trial and error. I can whip up a meal with whatever you have in your refrigerator, just as long as I have a few eggs. The first time I changed a tire it was in the pouring rain. Don’t throw a red T-shirt in with your whites unless you like to wear pink. Small incremental learnings eventually add up. Education doesn’t stop after class ends. There is far more to learn on the outside. At my university, this couldn’t be more true.

The location of my college is not ideal. It’s situated in the middle of the inner city where the surrounding neighborhoods are a little rough. I was always reminded by the juxtaposition of campus life and the realities only a few blocks away. Two different worlds existed side by side.

It was culture shock trading the suburban bubble for the realities of an urban neighborhood. Being on campus was fine. There was security and the safety of the university. Off campus, was different. I had to be a little more aware of my surroundings and keep my guard up. I encountered homelessness and crime for the very first time. It was eye opening. For one of my classes, I spent time assisting at an inner city elementary school. I worked with a second grade class and the kids were wonderful. However, seeing the needs of the kids could be a little sad. This never existed in the bubble where I came from. I consider the exposure to the inner city as part of my life education. I became aware that life is not easy for everyone. Being exposed to the inner city forever changed my definition of struggle.

Natalie Merchant and Tracy Chapman covered Elvis’ In the Ghetto at Lilith Faire in 1998. I do, in fact, like the original version. When I first heard it, it was a side of Elvis I wasn’t expecting. But my love for cover songs will always lean me towards the Merchant/Chapman version.

Elvis Presley’s In the Ghetto is a song that was released in 1969 and became an instant hit. The song, written by Mac Davis, is a powerful ballad that tells the story of a young boy growing up in poverty in the ghetto. The song highlights the devastating effects of poverty on families and communities and emphasizes the importance of addressing the underlying issues that lead to poverty.

– OldTimeMusic

Calling the surrounding neighborhood of my university the ghetto probably is a little stronger than reality. But there definitely was a stark difference from what I grew up with. I was fortunate to leave the bubble and have an urban experience. It was not included in tuition, but a priceless experience thrown in for free.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto

And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
It's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?

Well, the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto

And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal, and he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun,
Steals a car,
Tries to run,
But he don't get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

And as her young man dies,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin',
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto

And his mama cries

21 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: In the Ghetto – Natalie Merchant and Tracy Chapman”

  1. I relate to this so much. Coming from a suburban bubble to a bucolic/wealthy campus smack dab in the middle of a very challenged urban neighborhood. The contrast in itself was disturbing.

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  3. I’m sure you have gathered by now that I’m a fan of covers and I hadn’t heard this version before. So thanks for introducing me to the interpretation by Merchant and Chapman. I am not sure they capture the desperation Presley did, but it’s still a solid track. My sweety liked it too.

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      1. Yes, very powerful. I remember being spellbound by it as a child. I think it was my introduction to the idea of people not having enough to get by. That and, when not wanting to finish my dinner, being told about “the children starving in Biafra.” It was pretty unsettling to think not everyone had food and a warm bed at the end of the day.

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  4. My friend and I were lost in a prostitute neighborhood in my college town. I couldn’t believe what I saw! At the age of 18 and from a conservative family, I was not able to believe things like that were/are real. Luckily, someone told us to go east and never come back to this side of town. 😅

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  8. i was born in a semi-ghetto (i say “semi” because there were worse areas than the one i grew up in … at least in my opinion). but the streets taught me valuable lessons– and i am grateful for those lessons! i’ve sinced moved to the “better” side of town. about a month ago, a neighbor was telling me how his 16 year old son ended up on X side of town and while stopped at a stoplight he was attacked by a group of kids with baseball bats (luckily, he got away with just dents and a busted window) … but it happened a block from where my childhood home is located. I still drive past my old home on occasion, but it’s rougher now than when i lived there– and I know to “canvass” the area before coming to a complete stop. (one of those valuable lessons learned on the streets!)

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  10. I’ve always loved this song by Elvis. I also love Tracey Chapman and Natalie Merchant, I will check out their cover!
    College is was all those things minus the urban part
    I learned a lot about a lot of things, both in school and out
    Great post!

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