Poor Immigrant
Sympathy for the Struggling Soul: Judy Collins' Reflection on the Poor Immigrant's Journey
Lyrics
I pity the poor immigrant
I feel sympathy for the unfortunate immigrant
Who wished he'd stayed home
Regretful of the decision to leave his home country
Who uses all his power to do evil
He uses his capabilities for wrongdoing
And in the end is always left alone
Despite his actions, he ends up isolated and alone
Like men who with his fingers cheats
Similar to those who deceive with their fingers and lie continuously
And who lies with every breath
He engages in deceit with every breath
Who passionately hate his life
He intensely despises his life
And likewise fears his death
Simultaneously, he fears his own death
I pity the poor immigrant
Expressing pity for the immigrant whose efforts are futile
Who's strength is all in vain
His strength proves to be ineffective
Who's heaven is like iron sides
His idealized heaven is unyielding and unyielding like iron
Who's tears fall like rain
His tears are abundant and fall like rain
Who eats but is not satisfied
He consumes, but his desires are never satisfied
Who hears but does not see
He hears, but remains oblivious or blind
Who falls in love with wealth and self
Falls in love with wealth and self-interest, forsaking others
And turns his back on me
Turns away from the speaker or the narrator
I pity the poor immigrant
Continuing to express pity for the immigrant
Who tramples through the mud
He moves through difficulties and challenges like mud
Who fills his mouth with laughing
His laughter is filled with insincerity or irony
And who builds his town with blood
He constructs his success or town at the cost of bloodshed
Who visions it may finally end
He envisions that his suffering may eventually come to an end
Must shatter like the glass
This vision shatters like glass
I pity the poor immigrant
Reiterating sympathy for the immigrant's hardships
Who his gladness comes surpass.
His happiness is overshadowed or exceeded by his sorrow
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