It's the Hard Knock Life

The Hard-Knock Life is the second song sung in Annie. It was composed by Charles Strouse, and the lyrics were written by Martin Charnin. The Hard-Knock Life is one of the most famous songs from the musical Annie, it was first sung on Broadway in 1977. It is sung by the orphans under the care of Agatha Hannigan.

Plot
As punishment for trying to escape the orphanage in the middle of the night, Miss Hannigan has Annie, and the orphans, clean their room all night. While they clean, the girls sing of the injustices they suffered while living in an orphanage. Such injustices include being "kicked" instead of being "kissed," and never celebrating holidays such as Christmas and Halloween.

The scene includes a lot of choreography. During the musical number the orphan girls dance, jump on beds, and throw the youngest of the orphans, into a gigantic hamper filled with dirty sheets. The large hamper plays a large role in allowing Annie to escape successfully out of the orphanage shortly after the song.