Workingman's Blues #2

There's an evenin' haze settlin' over the town Starlight by the edge of the creek The buyin' power of the proletariat's gone down Money's gettin' shallow and weak Where the place I love best is a sweet memory It's a new path that we trod They say low wages are reality If we want to compete abroad My cruel weapons have been put on the shelf Come sit down on my knees You are dearer to me than myself As you yourself can see While I'm listenin' to the steel rails hum Got both eyes tight shut Just sitting here tryin' to keep the hunger from Creeping its way into my gut Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues Well, I'm sailin' on back, ready for the long haul Tossed by the winds and the seas I'll drag 'em all down to hell and I'll stand 'em at the wall I'll sell 'em to their enemies I'm tryin' to feed my soul with thought Gonna sleep off the rest of the day Sometimes no one wants what we've got Sometimes you can't give it away Now the place is ringed with countless foes Some of them may be deaf and dumb No man, no woman knows The hour that sorrow will come In the dark I hear the night birds call I can hear a lover's breath I sleep in the kitchen with my feet in the hall Sleep is like a temporary death Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues Well, they burned my barn and they stole my horse I can't save a dime I got to be careful, I don't want to be forced Into a life of continual crime I can see for myself that the sun is sinking How I wish you were here to see Tell me now, am I wrong in thinking That you have forgotten me? Now they worry and they hurry and they fuss and they fret They waste your nights and days Them I will forget But you I'll remember always Old memories of you to me have clung You've wounded me with words Gonna have to straighten out your tongue It's all true, everything you have heard Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman blues In you, my friend, I find no blame Wanna look in my eyes, please do No one can ever claim That I took up arms against you All across the peaceful sacred fields They will lay you low They'll break your horns and slash you with steel I say it so it must be so Now I'm down on my luck and I'm black and blue Gonna give you another chance I'm all alone, I'm expecting you To lead me off in a cheerful dance I got a brand new suit and a brand new wife I can live on rice and beans Some people never worked a day in their life Don't know what work even means Well, meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues