I first heard this song in 1970 when I was having a meal in acafe in Brighton, one of the local folkies was providing the diners with entertainment/education. I used to be a policeman in the City of London and can remember seeing characters such as those in this song wandering around the bomb sites of Upper and Lower Thames Streets and also in and around Mick's Cafe in Fleet street late at night. This song brought those memories to life to me, and still do. And as Big Mick said, remind me that there is always someone worse off, nomatter where you are. I now live in Auckland NZ where we also have the homeless.
A long way of saying I like this song and the reasons why.