My goodtime friends have put me down 
I'm all alone in your town 
You know I don't have no place to go 
The woman I love she don't want me no more 
I'm just trying to explain 
I need a penny to call my baby 
You don't seem to understand 
I need a penny to call my baby 
You know she asked me to call her on the phone 
She got the nerve to tell me she all alone 
I'm just trying to explain 
I need a penny to call my baby 

I'm just trying to make you understand 
I need a penny to call my baby 
Now I don't have no peace of mind 
I'm just trying to seek what I can find 
I'm just trying to explain 
I need a penny to call my baby 

Now I want to tell you when I wake up in the morning 
And I find now baby I'm all by myself 
I feel so disatisfied 
When I go to work and I come home in the evening 
And there ain't nobody there 
I feel so disatisfied 
Oh give me a penny baby, give me a penny baby 
My wife, now my wife she left me 
Give me a penny 
Give me a penny